Beggars would ride
by Ems4179
Summary: A follow-up to the series. Buffy gets hold of a 'read-only' relic that allows the viewer to see how taking a different choice in life would have panned out. The Gang can't resist using it. Strangely, when Buffy uses it, it pulls her back into the past.
1. Disclaimer

Disclaimer:

A while back, BellaVision (Profile: .net/u/2013907/ ) got in touch with me, requesting that I write a Buffy/Spike fanfiction. 

"1) In S7's episode "Touched", Buffy and Spike will magically be transported  
>through the Mirror of Time to a place similar to them both. They will go back<br>to Season 6 and right during the past Buffy's beat down of Spike in "Dead  
>Things." Future Buffy will blame the other her and will hate her for all of<br>the things she herself had done to Spike. She will fight herself in that same  
>alley."<p>

The story that follows has been tweaked obviously, from the original idea but hopefully what I've got so far is satisfactory.

As to the characters mentioned, I own none of them. I make no profit from this story (or indeed the Buffyverse) whatsoever and yes, BellaVision has the right to do with it as she wishes. :)

The Immortal storyline touched on in Basic Mechanics_Volunteer is a part of the Angel universe and was expanded on in Nancy Holder's story Queen of the Slayers – this is where I've taken the idea that Buffy became 'Queen' from. Check the book out, it's definitely worth the read.


	2. Aftermath

Buffy let out a heavy sigh as she considered how much her life had changed: She was normal now thanks to Willow's spell which gave the essence of a Slayer to every Potential. Now there were thousands (maybe more) of Slayers in the world and so she was nothing out of the ordinary at all. Well, not exactly. Apparently being the oldest and longest serving meant that she had become 'Queen'. So still not that normal.

In the respect of the Slayers, Faith was considered her Second-in-Command then Kennedy. Of course in Kennedy's case, that was because she was the most assertive woman from the original group of Potentials as well as being Willow's girlfriend. In terms of the Scooby Gang though, their structure remained much the same with the addition of Kennedy, Robin and the return of Faith – bar Anya obviously.

She grimaced as her thoughts turned to her ex-demon friend. An ironic death, she supposed – all those years of running away at the merest hint of apocalypse, uncaring of any and all deaths of humans or other demons, only to die protecting Andrew – a person that many deemed to be one of the most worthless humans to ever exist. She truly hoped that her friend's final act of sacrifice had been enough to allow Anya entry to a Heavenly dimension… where bunnies would only be allowed if that were what she wished.

She turned her attention to the rather naïve blonde guy that Anya had saved and who was currently driving Willow to distraction. With a roll of her eyes, she joined the general conversation. "Is there any chance that you can take your gaze off that Star Wars show and focus on what is being said here? What Willow and Dawn are telling you is important, Andrew." At least she was remembering names now. Maybe not those of all the Slayers flooding in but certainly of Tucker's brother. It was a start, she supposed.

Andrew looked horror-stricken. "Star Trek, Buffy." He rolled his eyes. "Yes, they have Star in the title but they're **nothing** alike – well, apart from their sheer awesomeness – and it wounds me that you can't get the name right – or tell the difference. I mean, **look** - there's Picard being awesome on screen. He wasn't anywhere near Star Wars. Oh, but if he had been…"

This only caused Buffy to roll her eyes in exasperation once more – it would have been at this stage in the conversation that Anya would have piped up… probably with something along the lines of how Andrew really needed a girlfriend. She snapped her fingers a couple of times in front of his face to pull him out of whatever reverie he had slipped in to. "Look Andrew, it's really very simple – I need you to focus, okay? We need you to go with Dawn and Willow to collect this artefact doohicky.

Andrew sighed, reached for the remote and snapped off the television – this caused him to release yet another sigh. "I get it Buffy, your Queenliness. You need me to go instead of Kennedy though I doubt that I'll be any good in a fight if it comes down to that. I'll go with them and get the mirror thing and then everything will be ready for yet another apocalypsy thing... I don't suppose you know what this thing does yet?" He almost pouted when he was just completely ignored.

Buffy looked at Willow and Dawn. "Try not to strangle him, guys." She hugged first her sister then her best friend and chose not to reply to Andrew's complaints about not getting a hug too. "Though, if you do I will totally understand and perhaps you could just… you know, detour past Sunnydale and drop him in." The three women shared a moment of amusement as they heard Andrew start to whine about being under-appreciated.

When they left the sitting room, Dawn saying that she wished she'd had the foresight to be busy like Kennedy so she wouldn't have to deal with Andrew's girly whining, Buffy headed out to the back yard, still smiling a little at the silliness of Andrew and her sister's reaction to it. She frowned though as she watched Faith put the newest Slayers through their training. This newest batch had shown up within the last week. Only one of them appeared to have any training of any sort but that was okay – apparently one thing that could be said for Slayers was that they were quick learners… at least when it came to learning new combat techniques and battle strategies.

Thing was though, was she really needed here? They would all continue on just fine. Even if she had died back during their 'final' battle when that uber-vamp…Turok-han… had managed to give her what the First had tauntingly described as a 'mortal wound'. They would have been fine. Admittedly it had been she who had found the Slayer Weapon after guessing correctly at its location and managing to dodge around Caleb. Thanks to that, things were all so different now and that was undoubtedly something to be grateful for.

Aside from that though, the only people that really needed her were her family Dawn, Giles, Willow and Xander but even they didn't need her as much as they once had. Perhaps it had been that way for a while, though. After all, when it came down to it - when it came down to the vote in fact - Xander, Giles and Willow had been quick enough to back Faith as the new Slayer in charge. Dawn too, had told her to leave. She didn't hold that against her sister though. She was only trying to keep some level of balance in the house. The other three though… that had hurt!

All the years that she had kept them safe, the first chance that they got, they turned their backs on her - Xander being upset about the loss of his eye. It was unfortunate, of course it was and yes, she understood that it was a major problem and hindrance and all that but in the grand scheme of things, it was **only** an eye. It could have been his life! Many times over! How many times **had** she saved him? Far too many to count.

Anya had told them years ago about the other reality that Cordelia had brought into being when she had stated that she wished "Buffy Summers had never come to Sunnydale." Despite knowing that they would not have lasted long at all, that Xander and Willow would have become vamps, that they killed Cordelia and that they all died – herself included when she finally showed up - Xander had griped enough about his eye to turn his back on her. As for Willow, well she supposed she couldn't blame her. She had to side with her still relatively new girlfriend. She could accept that. Most of the time…

Her gaze turned to Kennedy then, at this moment acting as Faith's back-up. When she had first taken an interest in Willow, she couldn't say she was thrilled. She was just so different from the quiet, shy but oh so sweet Tara. Always seeming to be the one coming down hardest on her. It was one (slightly selfish) reason to be glad that Kennedy had become a full-blown Slayer.

Kennedy seemed a lot more settled now thankfully – the almost angry desperation with which she once challenged her was gone. She still had her moments of course, but at least now they were arguing on equal terms rather than Kennedy angrily believing she could do a better job if **only **she were a fully-fledged Slayer instead of Buffy or Faith. She was a Slayer with already a lot of experience in the field and yes, her ideas were usually worth listening to… she imagined though that she and Willow would want to strike out on their own soon. At least, she was sure that at some stage soon, Kennedy would want to and Willow would follow.

It was easy to understand Kennedy's initial reaction to her now, after Dawn told her what Anya had said to her the night that they had believed her little sister was a Potential: Being a Potential is a double-edged sword: on one hand, you get called and then there's the untimely, violent death. On the other, you don't get called and you are left feeling that you've failed spectacularly; never quite managed to reach your full potential. Indeed, the latter seemed to apply to Kennedy given that she had seemed so put out by the fact that she felt she was then too old to become a Slayer.

But yes, she could deal with her, could like her human part well enough even though their Slayer parts seemed to spend most of their time locking horns. Of course the fact that her love for Willow was quite clear certainly didn't hurt the other woman's cause. It was interesting how the dynamics changed – whilst with Tara, Willow had seemed to be the more dominant of the two but now it seemed that her friend was happy to let Kennedy take the lead for the most part.

Of course they all still missed Tara but there could be absolutely no doubt that their shy friend was watching over them from one of the Heavenly dimensions.

She sighed and sat down on the step and let her gaze wander over the Slayers, the movements were soothing despite their awkwardness - soothing to an extent that they couldn't really hold her focus for long. Her attention wandered again: So many lives lost. It didn't seem fair. They were trying to make the world a better place and yet their only 'reward' for this seemed to be that they continued to lose the people that they cared about.

Jesse; her Mom; Kendra; Merrick; Ms Calendar; Tara; Anya; Angel; Cassie; herself twice. They hadn't heard anything from L.A. in too long now. It didn't bode well but she couldn't bring herself to call: if she called then she would know for certain that something had gone wrong. She couldn't bear to know for certain. It was better to believe that Angel was fine, as were Cordy and Wesley and whoever else they'd pulled into their gang.

There were other losses too of course. One in particular was always at the forefront of her mind - the one she really couldn't seem to get past. She closed her eyes tightly as she tried to will away tears; tried to will away the thoughts of Him; her lover and best friend…

She took a deep breath and stood, moved over to where the Slayers were training. Faith took one look at her and knew that she needed to do something so passed control of the training session to the older woman – anything was better than stopping to think for too long.


	3. Andrew Comes in Useful

It had been six weeks since Willow, Dawn and Andrew had brought the Mirror back. Six weeks and they had nothing on this strange relic. It called to her though. Somehow. Not the way that the Scythe had called to her. No, this was something else. Then again, it seemed to call to everyone on some level. Yet they still knew nothing about it. Not even its name – even Giles, Willow and Dawn were stumped! And so they had taken to calling it simply The Mirror.

It had to have some purpose though – it had been excavated, found in the remains of a buried Church. No way was it just a normal mirror. She would have known that even if it hadn't been calling to her. Even without the dreams… She sighed and brushed her hair back, out of her face. If He were here or even if Anya were, one of them would surely have been able to tell her if they sensed evil. She wrinkled her nose. Not that for a moment she was suggesting that Anya was evil. Of course she wasn't evil… She closed her eyes and sighed. Why exactly was she justifying herself **to** herself? All she meant was that Anya might know something about the relic given her many years upon this earth, nothing more! "And still with the justifying, Buffy. You seriously need sleep."

Willow lifted her gaze from the laptop where she was running about her millionth search on the Mirror. "Huh? You say something, Buffy?" Buffy sighed and shook her head. "Sorry Will, just talking to myself. I think I might need sleep, is all. Brain is fried. Also some shoes." She grinned at that particular comment knowing that it would get a reaction from the Watcher sitting nearby. Also, shoes **were** necessary – they soothed her soul.

As Buffy expected, Giles sighed long-sufferingly as he sat in a comfortable chair off to the side. "See, there we go – a most perplexing puzzle in front of us, something might I add that you have been **dreaming **about and for all we know, could yet again spell our doom… and all you want to talk about is **shoes**."

Of course he was ignored as Willow nodded sympathetically. "I hear ya – I saw these absolutely adorable…" The Watcher tuned out the rest of the conversation only to have to stifle a groan as he was pulled into another one. He did try his best though, to listen to Andrew. "It's okay Jeeves, they do it all the time to me too. It's almost like they think we have nothing of interest to say yet if they would just take the time, we could have sooo much valuable information to impart…"

Giles, for the sake of his sanity cut him off. "Did you manage to find anything in the texts at all, Andrew? And it's Giles, not Jeeves. Do, stop listening to Faith all the time, please."

Andrew blinked and looked bewildered for a moment by the change in subject but then his brain seemed to kick into gear. "Oh, the Mirror. No, I haven't. I mean I did find something that I thought was noteworthy online last night. I was on a D&D site and I was talking to someone who knows someone…" He shook his head, actually forcing himself off that topic and back to what interested the older man. "Anyway, point is, they linked me to this cool site and it seemed to be something that would be useful. I bookmarked it just in case. I mean, I tried to tell a few different people but no one wanted to hear."

Giles sat up straighter in his chair and looked at him. "You told someone you were talking to in an online game about the Mirror? Why would you do that? You don't know who you were talking to, Andrew-" He stopped his lecture mid-flow as it dawned on him what the foolish young man had said. "You found something and you didn't tell me? What makes you think that it was anything to do with the Mirror?"

The blonde shrugged. "Well, its welcoming page was just a snapshot of the Mirror. Seemed like it might just be a sign…" Suddenly a rather peeved looking Willow was standing at his side. "You saw something that might – just **might** be useful and you never thought to tell me? Us? ANYONE?"

Andrew shrunk back a little reflexively. When Willow threw that expression at him, he couldn't help but be reminded about Black-haired, scary Willow, the one who had ripped the skin right off his best friend Warren and wanted to do the same – or worse – to him and Jonathan. He whimpered then huffed out a breath. "That's what I was just telling Je- Giles here. I **tried** to tell you but Kennedy told me to go away because that particular time was your alone time together… were you doing anything interesting? A tricky word puzzle or maybe a complex spell or something? You're not a closet fan of Star Trek are you? Because there is really no need to be ashamed." He made the Vulcan salute in her direction but the Sorceress just batted his hand away and rolled her eyes.

Buffy cut him off after sharing a bewildered look with Giles – Andrew was a grown man… supposedly. How could he not know about Willow and Kennedy? "Andrew, do you think you could get the site up for us again? Please?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Well yeah, of course. It's saved on my laptop." He registered the look they were all throwing his way. "Right. That would mean that I should go get it. Right now. Which I am doing… right now." He set aside the book that he was holding if not actually reading – even before the interruption - and almost scurried away.

Buffy turned to Willow. "Can you believe that he would..?" Willow shook her head. "I know – all this time and he thinks we were just playing a board game or something." Giles coughed. "I think that Buffy might have been referring to the fact that Andrew forgot to mention something that could be important."

Willow coloured slightly – a habit she still couldn't break sometimes but which both Tara and Kennedy claimed was adorable. Obviously it had been adorable when Tara did it but it just made **her** feel like the nerdy child she had once been, which she was still sure lurked inside her even now. "Yeah, of course. Sorry. Right. I knew that." She cleared her throat and slanted her gaze away from them, embarrassed.

Fortunately Andrew came back in with the laptop and broke the tension in the room. He was talking to Xander as he did so, showing him something on screen that seemed to fascinate them both. Buffy cast her glance to her friend. "Hey Xander, so Andrew has been filling you in, huh?"

Xander nodded without taking his eyes from the screen. "Hey Buff… oh yeah, that's one hot picture of Seven of Ni-." He froze as he realised that the room had fallen silent. "Uh… that is… what I meant to say… you were talking about something monster related, right? Okay." He shuffled awkwardly. "Let's just pretend that never happened."

Buffy snorted. "Not a problem." She turned to Andrew. "Website. Now please."

Andrew set the laptop down on the table, minimised the Star Trek pictures, found the site and showed them what he had stumbled across.

Buffy's eyes went wide. "Well, it seems like D&D or Star Trek or whatever it was you were doing has a use for something after all, Andrew." She looked at Willow. "Clearly that's not English… do you think that you, Giles and Dawn can get it translated? See if it helps us at all?"

Willow nodded. "We'll get right on it." She looked at Giles who also nodded and together they left the room after taking the site details to her own laptop.

Giles came back a moment later. "As much as it pains me to say it, when it comes to obscure dialects, Andrew has helped in the past. You should come with us." It wasn't so much the inane chatter of Andrew's that bothered him – after years of listening to the Scooby Gang he'd learned to tune it out. It was merely that the look of happiness that crossed Andrew's face at being chosen made him a little uncomfortable – he was like an overexcited puppy. He shook his head wearily and followed him out.

Buffy meanwhile, decided to head to her room and try to sleep for a few hours before it was time to patrol. She groaned at the thought of it – tonight would be the usual trial by fire for the most recent arrivals, testing how they reacted in the field. She should really bring some headphones with her to block them all out in case it was a quiet night. Hmm… Britney and Christina or My Chemical Romance and Linkin Park… decisions, decisions.


	4. No Rest

The Queen of the Slayers awoke from her (very short) nap more troubled than when she had gone to sleep - that in itself was nothing new to her any more. One would think that with the advent of so many new Slayers, the prophetic dreams could go to someone else. She had debated that very point with the gang not that long ago, trying to understand. The best that anyone could come up with was that she was the first and maybe even the only one that the Powers recognised. Great. Still a freak, it seemed!

Night after night, the dreams – or rather dream, if she was honest – continued to cause her to lose out on much-needed rest as they came to her. She would wake out of every dream cycle with thoughts of The Mirror in her mind only to slip straight into another one the moment she got back to sleep again. Different people and surroundings but it was always the same message: Something big was coming. Something tied to the mirror. None of them said what or how or how much trouble they were in just something big. Different people came to tell her the message – her Mom, Anya, Kendra, some guy called Doyle, Cassie, Ms Calendar, Whistler, Cordelia, Wesley (Don't think about the last two, Buffy. Just don't.) Never Him though, oh no – not in those dreams. He never showed in those.

He came to her other dreams though, dreams that hurt and made her feel like her soul was being shredded and made her wake longing to be able to wrap her arms around him and cling tight much as they had the night before she had gotten the Scythe. Those dreams at least left her feeling a little more rested, even if her soul was more battered each time she woke up alone. She sighed and sat up, smoothing her hair away from her face.

She should have stopped him using that ridiculous piece of bling. If only they had known what would happen - they would have found a different way, there had to have been a different way…

Pointless!

All the 'What-ifs' and regrets in the world couldn't change what had been. A slight smile came to her face – perhaps if Anya were still alive - and a Vengeance Demon, she could have worked it for her. Or even Halfrek. Certainly, she would probably have been more likely to help out as Anya had still been trying to hold to the whole 'woman scorned' thing until D'Hoffryn had stripped her powers and ended Halfrek's life as punishment, that is. She sighed and stood up then headed to the bathroom. "So tired of people leaving me."

**eieio**

Buffy wandered into the sitting room, piece of cold pizza in hand. She did her best to ignore Willow and Kennedy practically making out in the corner (Willow would **never** have done that with Tara. I miss Tara.) and focused her attention on Giles, Dawn and Andrew. "How's it going? You think you can work it out?" She looked hopeful. Please, if they found something, the dreams would stop and then maybe she could get some much-needed sleep.

If she were honest though, she didn't want the dreams of Him to stop - she would miss them. They were a part of Him that she could cling to and this life didn't seem just as bleak – it was just the moment of waking and realising that He was gone that was so hard to deal with after the sweetness of the dreams. If she could just stop the Mirror dreams, but leave Him, that would be great!

Dawn looked up and pouted. "Hey, I was saving that slice." She sighed and waved her right hand dismissively. "I'm over it. It's okay, you're the Queen Slayer and need to preserve your strength, I get it, I'm not mad." (Much.) She rolled her eyes and tried to remember her sister's question.

Buffy rolled her eyes in turn as she pulled money out of her jeans pocket with her free hand and passed it over. "Here, get more. Now, can we focus please – do you think that you can sort this out? Any clues as to what it is yet? What end-of-world-doomy-thing is coming our way?" She gestured to the printouts scattered around the table and the floor all bearing the strange, alien language.

Dawn snorted and waved her hand dismissively. "Oh please! Of course we can do it. This will be a doddle." Buffy raised a brow at the 'Spikeism' but said nothing. She ignored the slight pain that it caused her heart too. She just looked at Giles for confirmation who nodded. "Great. Well, in that case, I'm off to break in the newbies." She waved at them all, turned and walked off, exiting the room to an only half-heard complaint from Andrew. "She didn't ask me **my** opinion." Dawn patted his back half-heartedly then got back to the translation.

**eieio**

The Trial by Fire had been as bad as expected – a couple of the new Slayers had nearly ended up eaten by vamps as she'd been busy helping out some of the others, a couple had broken limbs. On the bright side, they would heal fast just as she did so there wasn't too much to worry about there. It was just the hassle of getting them to the hospital to ensure that everything was set right that bothered her. Or rather, the hospital did. All these years of life, all the times that she had been in hospitals and still she could never relax. Not since her cousin…

Buffy poured herself a glass of milk, grabbed an ice pack from the freezer and sat down. Now that the other Slayers were safely wrapped up in their beds (or at least, roaming the third floor of the old house), she allowed herself to relax. She winced as the different injuries from the last few hours started to make themselves known to her. A sigh of relief escaped her when, after pulling her hair back into a loose pony tail with the help of a discarded band that had been laying on the table, she placed the icepack on her neck and was almost content for a moment… until she was hit by a memory of Him doing the same for her. She growled and dropped the pack down onto the table's surface and headed into the front room.

If no one had anything useful to share with her, she would pull Giles aside to help her train or meditate or something. She felt that she needed some one-on-one time with her Watcher. It had certainly been a long time given how busy they were these days. The last thing she needed was for him to take it into his head that he was no longer needed and uproot himself to go back to England. Again.

**eieio**

Three hours later, she had had a thorough work out and even managed to slot in some much-needed meditation without a single interruption. She could only assume that she had the Gang to thank for that because normally the new Slayers sought out Buffy or Giles – sometimes both - to ask a multitude of questions, or for help with a complicated manoeuvre… or to sort out an argument between them.

As she cooled down, she looked around the training room that Xander had set up for her shortly after finding this place, she could only be amazed yet again at how much time he had taken to make it suitable for their needs. It had the same layout as the room in the back of the Magic Box but on a much grander scale because of course, with all the Slayers, there had to be more than one of everything. Despite that, it still felt like her haven, a place to relax and centre herself once more and for that she was grateful.

Now for a shower and then an early night and hopefully sweet oblivion!

**Eieio**

Thanks to applemysteries for pointing out my omission of Cordelia in the dreams. Now corrected.


	5. Purpose Revealed

Buffy vaguely remembered that there had been a time when she hated researching. She had so majorly sucked at it. If she was honest, she still wasn't much better now – a lot of the time her brain just tuned out. Now though, she found the old books soothing somehow. Even when she was just staring blankly at them, she wasn't thinking about Him or about the many people who were lost to her. Life was just easier.

She was snapped out of her usual trance-like state by a nudge from someone sitting to her right. She turned and looked to them. "Huh, what? I was totally paying atten-." She sighed. "What'd I miss?"

Faith grinned and shook her head. "Majorly important exciting things. And now, you don't know them and I'm not telling and the world is going to end and it'll be all your fault… oh, all right. Not much of anything. Just a lot of Andrew waffling…" She caught Andrew's glare then. "Oh, sorry Andy. I totally meant talking – in an informative way about things that are both riveting and exciting."

Andrew whined. "Faii-ith… my name is Andrew." He frowned. "And this stuff is important. Or… at least it should be." He shrugged. "But it isn't. It's just… I don't get it." He sat down with a dejected look on his face.

Buffy blinked. "Huh? Say what not?" She looked around the different assembled faces. "What's he saying? Did you find something? Did you manage to translate already? Because if you're saying it's not important, you have to have translated it wrong because no way are the Powers That Be sending me all these dreams for nothing, right? Right?"

Giles sighed and pulled off his glasses and a handkerchief and proceeded to clean the lenses. "Actually, for once Andrew is right. This Mirror… does not do much of anything, to be honest." He shook his head as Willow started to speak up. "What I mean is, it does **something** but nothing near important enough for you to be dreaming about."

Buffy was more than bewildered now. "Okay, translation please? What is the Mirror? What does it do? Why is it not special despite all the dream mumbo jumbo stuff?"

Willow took up the thread when Giles seemed at a loss as to what to say then. "Thing is Buffy, the Mirror isn't an active thing at all. It's just… it **is**. Do you see?"

(No, not really. At some stage this conversation was going to make sense.)

Willow growled in frustration. "Okay, sorry. Not explaining this well at all. I think we're all just confused – by the lateness of the hour, by the facts that have been revealed to us and why your dreams point to this as being important." She sagged then as both Faith and Buffy gave her their best 'running out of patience' look. Well, technically Buffy's was more of a 'Zoning out in class' look but still, point taken.

The redhead bit on her lip for a moment. "I'm sorry Buffy. We translated the text a few hours ago and since then, we've found a lot of different things connected to it. All of them point to the same thing – this Mirror isn't your normal mirror, granted but it doesn't do anything terribly amazing, either."

Both Dawn and Andrew scoffed at that but Dawn was the one to speak. "Doesn't do anything amazing?" She lifted up one of the pages in front of her and waved it around vaguely. "It says here that it lets the viewer see glimpses of different paths – of the way their lives could have been if they'd chosen a different route. How is that not amazing?"

Buffy stared at them all as that sunk in. Different paths… she could see if not having that stupid bling would have allowed Him to stay. Or she could not have been so entirely vile to him – at least a million times. Did she want to know, though? If it was only a glimpse, what did it change?

Giles had spotted the rising look of hope filling his Slayer's eyes and needed to say something so that her heart wouldn't break yet again. He realised though that she had already grasped the full meaning though as that light died once more. "I'm sorry Buffy. That's the thing, you see – it allows glimpses but there's nothing in here about changing anything. Nothing at all! On the contrary, we've actually read many different accounts of people who have frittered away their lives trying to make the visions they were shown into reality. Perhaps that was even why it was buried. Why torture yourself by seeing a better future than the one you are currently living in but which you can't bring about."

Buffy nodded slowly. "Right. You're right." She pushed thoughts of Him away from her as much as possible. There had to be some reason for those dreams, didn't there? There just had to be! "Is it possible then, that the Mirror can show us the future? Show us where our choices will take us? Maybe that way we can avoid the really huge mistakes."

Willow gasped and her eyes lit up. "Oh. Wow. That's… That would be neat and very useful and… definitely very useful." She cast her gaze down to all the paperwork scattered about. "Well, nothing so far has revealed that. Then again, maybe no one was looking for that. At least, not any of the people shown here." The redhead gestured around at all the paperwork and books scattered around then nudged Giles' right arm as excitement started to take hold of her… the possibilities could be amazing.

Giles coughed. "Yes, well… be that as it may, it's five o'clock in the morning and I seriously doubt that we're going to need this Mirror's advice for anything in the next few hours so I strongly recommend that we all get to bed. I daresay that there isn't one amongst us who isn't running on empty."

No one could disagree with the older man on that part so after a few more short conversations and more than a few curious glances at the Mirror, they headed their separate ways to get some rest.

**eieio**

Two hours later, Buffy was downstairs cooking breakfast. She had at least now got the hang of making waffles. Waffles as it turned out were easy. And delicious! She liked waffles! Making waffles was definitely better than sleep… and dreams. Definitely! She wondered, not for the first time, if the doctor would prescribe her sleeping tablets so she could get even two hours' sleep at a time. That would be helpful.

She stayed in the kitchen for another half hour. Then the Slayers started emerging. Before too long, it would have been quieter at the Sunnydale Zoo with all the chatter going on around them. She sighed and headed into the front room and just stood in front of the Mirror.

Would she want to see anything? Did it really do any good knowing if things could have made a difference? Clearly, if it could **change** the future, she would do it in a heartbeat – she could make things so much better. She would have got her Mom to stay in hospital, closely monitored. Somehow. She would change Ms Calendar keeping her roots a secret – if they had only known about her Romany background and the curse that it was connected to, she would still be alive, Angel would never have lost his soul and things wouldn't literally have gone to hell.

She could get Cassie tested for the heart defect. She would get to live her life… she could stop Warren – save Tara and even save him… no, it would have to go further back than that. Stop him creating the Sexbot. If he hadn't created it, then she wouldn't have shown up causing Katrina to dump him. If he hadn't been dumped, he wouldn't have wanted to do that spell. If he hadn't done that spell, she wouldn't have ended up dead and he wouldn't have gotten a taste for it…

She sighed and looked heavenward. Problem was though; if he hadn't created April then Spike wouldn't have had the idea for the Buffybot. If it hadn't been created, maybe she wouldn't have been strong enough to defeat Glory on her own. Then again, perhaps she could just have let Glory go through. After all, if she let her go through, nothing would be different, would it? She would still have jumped to protect her sister and Willow would still have brought her back. So maybe just cut to the chase and talk to the crazy hellgod and make a bargain – stop with the threatening long enough to get home and then she would jump through the portal.

Buffy dropped her head into her hands and let out a heavy sigh. She really needed some sleep. Anything that made her stop thinking so much had to be a good thing, after all. This wasn't good for her and it didn't help. After all, letting Glory go didn't really change much in the grand scheme of things. It wasn't about letting Glory go. It started with Warren, stopping him make the Sexbot while setting him up to meet Katrina so that he could be happy with her. Happy and out of the picture!

She frowned and shifted in the chair to make herself more comfortable. How far back would she need to go though - if she was given the chance to go back and fix one thing? So many possibilities! What would be the most beneficial thing?

What **would** she change? The deaths of her Mom, Cassie, Jesse, Ms Calendar, Warren… no wait! What was she thinking? She couldn't change Warren's fate, could she? Not really. How could she risk it? If she saved him from his particular brand of madness, while it might save Tara and indeed Warren, the fact remained that it was the catalyst for Willow getting all the Power inside her. Obviously they could do without Dark Willow but could Willow have done the spell to make every Potential a Slayer without that Power? She doubted it. Willow had been strong before, undoubtedly, but she had said that the spell had taken a lot out of her even then. It might have killed her – and they all would have died. So no, as much as it pained her to say it, Warren would have to stay.

She sighed and closed her eyes. All this thinking was giving her a headache. She opened her eyes a short time later though when someone walked into the room, stopping by her chair.

"Y'know love, all this thinking is bad for you. You're thinkin' far too much."

Buffy frowned. "Spike…"


	6. A Study in Futility

Buffy stared at the vampire for a moment. He was dressed in that blue sweater he wore sometimes – one that really brought out the colour of his eyes. "Okay, this feels different than my normal dreams. Spike, why are you here? Wait, I **am** dreaming, aren't I? I didn't die or something in my sleep, did I?"

She frowned in thought, trying to remember what she had last been doing. "Definitely couldn't have been in battle. Last thing I remember was coming into the front room and looking at the Mirror before sitting down to think about what I would change in my life." She looked up at him. "So many possibilities but in the end, there aren't."

Spike nodded slowly. "Exactly right, pet. Things happen for a reason – it's always been like that."

Buffy frowned. "So you and me, all that… what reason was there in that, huh? Me mistreating you, you taking it until finally you snapped."

Spike scowled. "Now none of that, love. Don't want to hear it. Not here to talk about that at all – 'sides, you and I both know that it was a two-way problem." He shrugged and sat down beside her as she realised they were now sitting on the steps of the back porch of her home back in Sunnydale. "How come so many of our conversations end up here, Spike? Why is that?"

Spike shrugged. "Well, they could hardly happen behind closed doors now, could they?" He gestured into the house. "All your loved ones are inside the house. How could you keep us a secret from them in there?"

Buffy scowled. "Even in my dreams you are trying to make me feel guilty."

The vampire could only laugh at that. "I'm nothing but a figment of your imagination, pet." He lit up a cigarette he'd pulled from his duster pocket. "Wouldn't be wearing this old jacket if I wasn't, would I?" He shrugged and exhaled slowly, seemed to focus on the patterns the smoke created in the air in front of him.

Buffy deflated visibly at his words. "That's the problem, isn't it? If you were real, I think there would be some peace but you're not. You're just my brain, trying to find comfort."

She sighed and tried to work out a kink in her back that had made its presence known. "I should be happy. I **should** be happy, Spike. I'm normal now – I have what I wanted so badly. Yet it doesn't ring true. God! If I'd only known years ago what I know now… the things I could have changed." She wrinkled her nose. "I get it, I can't change the big stuff. Not the really big stuff… but I could have changed how things went between us, couldn't I? Or I could have just let you know how I really felt." Her gaze fell to her feet, unable to look at him any more – or even just in his general direction. "I don't know what kills me more – that you didn't believe me when I told you that I loved you or that I realised it too late to share more precious time with you."

Her eyes had filled with tears then. It was nothing new – she always cried in her dreams when He was there. Her Spike.

Spike slid his fingers under her chin and gently raised it so that their eyes met. He gave her that pure smile that never ceased to get a reaction from her. She understood her reaction to it now of course but she'd been so lost back then. She hadn't really understood Buffy Summers the Woman at all. She had been far too focused on the angst that being Buffy Summers the Slayer had involved. She snorted as she realised that Holden Webster would have had a field day with that particular insight – probably even more than her having an inferiority complex due to having a superiority complex. Of course, that was easy to explain now too – the inferiority part was her human side, the superiority her Slayer side.

She sighed and looked at Spike. "That's another life wasted. Holden Webster. Y'know, he was a really nice guy. I mean **really** nice. He was the sorta guy that I hope Dawn can fall in love with – and be loved back obviously." She frowned. "Aside from the vampire stuff, I mean." She winced. "No offence. I mean, nothing wrong with being a vampire. I just… well, you're different. Obviously not **so** much different 'cause y'know Angel… except you **chose** to have a soul so you are but…" She sighed. "He was nice. I forget that under all the vampire crap, so much of the human still resides. Then again…" She rolled her eyes. "I'm rambling. I'm basically just saying that he was nice. He shouldn't have died. I am so tired of people leaving."

Spike's smile deepened. "Ramble away, love. I enjoy listenin' to you." He shrugged. "Won't be long now." He gestured with a nod to something behind her. She turned to look and realised that they were back in the front room of their current home and he was gesturing to the mirror. "What's so special about..?" Gone. Of course! She turned her head for two seconds and he was gone…

…And she was awake. She looked at Dawn who was now standing where He had been when he first showed up. "What's wrong, Dawnie?" It wasn't really a question she needed answering, not really. She knew what was on her sister's mind – it would be the same thing that had played on her mind. Well, one of the main things.

Dawn sat down on the arm of the Slayer's chair and looked at her sister for a moment before turning her gaze to the Mirror. "Mom." One corner of her mouth lifted faintly. "You knew that though, right. You had to have known that." She caught Buffy's nod out of the corner of her eye.

"Part of me wants to know if things could have been different - you know if even one of us had been at home that day and sitting with her, watching that dorky show that both her and Spike loved so much. The other part of me is terrified. I mean, what if we were to look and see that it had been? I mean, I know there's that whole Butterfly Effect thing but really, I can't see how bringing Mom back could be a bad thing or effect anything in a bad way, I really can't. Not to anything major other than to you and I not having that particular hole in our chest." Pain flashed over her face. "I wouldn't have been alone after Doc opened that portal and you took my place and you…" She didn't finish that sentence but her older sister understood easily enough where Dawn's thoughts had led her.

Buffy reached up and stroked her sister's hair the way she had done countless times before. "I'm sorry I left you alone Dawn, I really am, but I'm not sorry that I took that fall for you. Not ever. Even if I **had've** ended up in hell, it would have been worth it to know that you were safe. I love you."

Dawn turned to her, smiling through her unshed tears. "I know you do and I love you too. Of course I do. I mean we've been through so much, Buffy. I'm just so tired of people leaving."

Buffy smiled wryly at the words she seemed to be saying to herself so much lately. "Me too." She looked over at the Mirror. "I don't think I want to look at the past through it. That way leads to madness, right? I mean at the end of the day, everything we do is a choice – we could spend our whole life just staring into the abyss, seeing where a different choice would lead us. I think, if this thing can't tell us the future, we should put it somewhere safe and forget about it."

Giles had entered the room in his usual quiet manner choosing only to speak at that moment. Dawn jumped slightly having not realised that anyone else was there. Buffy of course, had known. "I agree with you on that, Buffy. It wouldn't make any sense to keep something like that around. Of course, we still have more research to do before its true purpose can be verified."

Dawn snorted. "And that would be my cue to get back to the books…"

Buffy smiled a little and looked at her watch. "Eight thirty. I guess that means that it is time for me to that most horrible of tasks," she shuddered, "grocery shopping." She brightened a little. "I think I will take Xander with me as well as a few of the newbies. It's always fun to watch him turn red when they pick up stuff that embarrasses him."

Ten minutes later Dawn could only laugh as she heard her sister knock back every single one of Xander's excuses. She wandered out to the hallway. "Xander, there's no getting out of it so you may as well just face it – you're **doomed**. I would insert an evil laugh about there but I'm far too tired right now."

Xander looked at her. "Why, thanks so much Dawnster – I'll be sure to put your name on the rota for next month." The young woman squeaked and quickly disappeared back into the room to get back to the books.


	7. Xander

After spending the last few hours with a few of the newest Slayers, Xander had never been more grateful to get back home and be able to stand in a room where it was only him and blissful Peace and Quiet. He was so happy in fact, that for a moment he contemplated calling his parents, just to see how they were doing, because that would allow him to hold onto the belief that things were normal – or as close as they ever got when you were one of the Slayer's Scooby Gang.

He wasn't even talking about the loss of his eye. Not really. He could deal with that. Sure, when he'd first lost it, there had been the irrational anger at Buffy however; the guilt had quickly set in after she had gone that night, when everyone had stood against her. Knowing that she had found the Slayer Weapon in the exact place that she had said it would be had only made him feel more guilty: After all the times she had saved his life, he had betrayed her. Sure, there had been occasions when he had done his bit to save **her** but he wasn't anywhere near stupid enough to imagine that the scales were in his favour.

He could never quite decide if that guilt ate him up more or if it was still outweighed by the guilt caused by her reminding him of how he had told Buffy that Willow had said to kick Angel's ass – he had just been so angry back then, seeing Willow so small and defenceless in that hospital bed and had the vampire for killing Jenny. He was never going to be Angel's biggest fan – or probably even in the top hundred – and in fact if he was honest, he was glad that Buffy **had** kicked his ass. Mostly.

It made him feel guilty as hell to know that she had had to send a **souled** Angel to a hell dimension for more than a century – if only for the additional pain it had caused his best friend. A part of him though, still believed that Angel had deserved to be punished for Ms Calendar's death, soul or not. The more honest part of him could admit that he had been more than a little jealous of Angel for getting to be with Buffy and it clouded his judgement at the time.

With a growl he forced the depressing thoughts out of his head. He wasn't going to call his parents: they hadn't called him, not once. After Sunnydale collapsed and they were holed up safely in a hostel somewhere or other, he had rang each of their cell phones in turn, wanting to assure them that he was okay. He got their answering services so he left a message checking on them and leaving the telephone number of the hostel he was staying at knowing that calling his cell would be too expensive. That way they could contact him at their convenience.

The next morning he was handed a message from the night porter – his parents were fine, they were glad that he was fine and that was it. They didn't ask about Anya or Buffy, Giles or Willow or anyone at all, actually. When he checked with the porter, he was told that actually, they had been quite specific about only wanting to leave a message. Apparently his parents just didn't give a damn!

Well, that was fine. He had his own family. A rather large and dysfunctional family but a family nonetheless… Buffy, Dawn, Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Faith, Robin… even Andrew (though he wouldn't admit to the last on pain of death). He wasn't yet desperate enough for familial connections to go so far as to include the ever-changing faces of the other Slayers, though.

Besides, it was the Slayers that bothered him. Strange, really – in the past, he'd been accused of having a thing for them: Buffy, Kendra (briefly), Faith… but there were just so many of them. And all of them could break him into itty-bitty pieces if they so chose. He was all for strong, Amazonian women, definitely. It was fair to say though that he was more than a little intimidated by so many of them in one place – especially when they seemed to want to use him in a game of 'who can make Xander the most uncomfortable' just to pass the time when they weren't training or out patrolling.

He let out a sigh as he pulled up the eye patch to rub lightly at an itch on the supposedly healed skin beneath. It didn't really do much good – the itch seemed to be with him almost continually now.

More realistically, he guessed that he just wasn't ready to deal with another woman – any woman – who might get the wrong idea and think he was after something more when all he was looking for was someone to pass the time of day with. Someone who wasn't Willow who was still a little too wrapped up in Kennedy, or Buffy who was so clearly lost in grief for Spike. As for Dawn… she made him uncomfortable lately too and he didn't even know how to begin to understand that weird development.

Point was simply that he missed Anya. A lot. All the time! She had been not only the love of his life but his best friend – even more so than Willow and Buffy. She had known all his darkest secrets that even Willow didn't know and yet been able to accept and love him regardless and he missed her like crazy. His thoughts turned to the Mirror. What if they could discover that this thing not only gave glimpses but also allowed you to enter and even change the past? He really didn't need to give that much thought – he would do it in a heartbeat!

What would he change though? He walked over to the kitchen worktop and grabbed a bag and started to unpack the groceries that they had brought home. Obviously they couldn't expect Anya to sit out the final battle – how could you single out one person as any more important than the next? Where would it stop? At some stage they would end up with no one going down there to wipe out the Uber Vamps. Then what? The First would win by default.

No, the only logical conclusion would be to switch her with someone else. He would take her place. He wouldn't have risked his life for Andrew. Or rather, he wouldn't have lost concentration because of him. Then again, he probably would have - that stupid human part of each of them made them do the silly thing at the worst possible time. Besides, wasn't there always the possibility that it was just Anya's time? What if he swapped places with her and she tried to save Dawn and still ended up dead? Or a sudden movement distracted her and she ended up dead? Or fell down the stairs and ended up dead? What if swapping places and siding with Dawn meant that not did she die but somehow, Dawn died too? That would have probably sent Buffy right over the edge.

That stupid human soul that made them do the stupid thing… Was it really such a bad thing? He stopped unpacking then as he finally understood why Buffy had chosen to jump into that portal rather than letting Dawn die – not that he wanted Dawn dead either. He just hadn't really understood her thinking at the time, how she had been so clear and given Dawn such a calm goodbye speech.

He definitely understood now though. Quite clearly: because if he had a chance, just one chance, he would take it and never look back. He would take Anya's place and even protect Andrew if it meant his death and do it gladly. Because Anya would live and that would have made it worth it… the world was a lot less bright without her in it.

He squeezed his eyes tightly shut as tears threatened. A moment later, one of the Slayers walked in and reached into the bag that he had been unpacking. "Whoa there, Harris… you've squished my tampons."

Xander let out a rather unmanly squeak then proceeded to drop the box he had hardly registered that he had been holding in his hand as fast as he could. All the while turning a deep shade of red. He fled the kitchen as fast as his legs would carry him, doing his best to ignore the girl's laughter.

That would be the 'lack of normal' that was getting to him. He had never been close enough to Cordelia for all that stuff, obviously. Anya, while quite graphic about sex, was decidedly coy about things relating to **that **time of the month. So much so that she had hidden all the paraphernalia from him. He was also sure that he wasn't the only male in the world to find this stuff disconcerting – given all the instances of Stephen King adding it to his horror stories, he **knew** he wasn't.

It definitely seemed to be the Slayers' running joke about how could make him squirm. He supposed that they wouldn't dare with Giles or Robin. As for Andrew, most of them avoided him like the plague except for the handful that were leaning towards his level of geekdom – a level that eclipsed even his own. Those particular Slayers seemed as uncomfortable with all that as he did. He sighed and shook his head as he made it to his bedroom and sunk down gratefully on his bed. He might well have a comeback for most occasions (except sometimes, Cordelia when she was on a roll back in the day) but when it came to women using their bodily functions against him he drew a blank.

He went to sleep thinking of Anya.


	8. Basic Mechanics and a Volunteer

Buffy was back in the front room staring at the Mirror again. It was becoming a habit since they had discovered its purpose just under a week ago. At least she could say that she wasn't alone – seemed like everyone in the know was there regularly - everyone in the know of course, being the Scooby Gang, which had expanded to include Faith, Robin, Andrew and Kennedy. Technically speaking of course, Faith had just rejoined them but after all the time apart it still seemed like a bit of a novelty for her to be there. At least now – most of the time anyway – she had finally stopped worrying that the dark haired Slayer was really working for the side of evil.

She allowed herself a brief moment of nostalgia as she echoed Xander's thoughts from when they had discovered Adam's plan, back in the day: Yes, there were times when she **did** miss the Mayor 'I just want to be a big snake'. Life had been so much simpler then.

Certainly her relationship with Him had been simpler back then. For both of them – they had both still wanted each other dead. Or at least, that's what they both had believed. She wasn't sure any more. Of anything when it came to Him. She supposed the waters had gotten muddied when He had sided with her against Angelus so that he could get Drusilla safely away.

She took a moment to wonder where the crazy vamp was these days then she tuned back in on the explanation going on around them as she registered the speaker changing from Giles to Dawn and just how excited Dawn's voice was.

"Okay, here's the thing… it's really quite simple now we know what to do – there isn't even any magic involved." She stopped and rolled her eyes. "Well, I mean of the incense and chanting variety, obviously. Clearly there is ancient magic involved." She waved her hand about as she focused once more. "Anyway, it's just a sequence of buttons and then you get to see what you want. The deal is that you – the viewer – have to focus on what you want to see, the change that you want to see play out."

Andrew held up his hand hesitantly, unsure if they would bother to see him when they didn't bother to listen to him. He nearly died of happiness when he was acknowledged but collected himself quickly enough. "That's all well and good and everything but does it show us the future?"

Dawn nodded. "I'm getting to that - well kinda: There's nothing in the texts. Nothing concrete anyway, however, a few of them do seem to be theorising at the possibility. So we're not the first ones to think of it. Unfortunately, for whatever reason those are also the incomplete texts. I think the only way we can know for sure is if we test it." She looked at Giles and Willow for verification and she couldn't help a grin spreading across her face as they nodded. "Yay!"

Buffy understood now why they were all looking so excited – the Science geniuses had been awoken in Willow and Dawn; Giles was thrilled by all of this sort of stuff and for Andrew… well, Andrew was just in his element among all the weird languages – apart from Mexican (or as he calls it, Mexicoan) She couldn't help but grin at the thought. Given that her language teachers had despaired of her, she could only imagine how they would have reacted to Andrew. She pulled her thoughts away from that errant train and focused once more. "Is there any way in which we can do that safely?"

Willow took over the speaking then with a shrug. "Well, that's the thing, see – no danger involved at all. The Mirror isn't something that can change the events shown. That's unfortunate but at the same time, good for our purposes. We don't need to worry that we will accidentally change something we were just curious about y'know? 'Cause if we did that, we might end up with something worse."

Andrew's hand was up in the air, this time Buffy looked at him and as no one else was speaking, she humoured him. "What is it, Andrew?"

"I want to volunteer. I mean, I have already volunteered to Willow and Giles but they said that I had to check with you first rather than just going ahead and doing it. Which, if you think about it is really just plain silly. I mean, how can I get into any trouble? Just pick something important to me but nothing eventful – certainly not anything like stopping my **amazing** Flying Monkeys appearing at the School Play – which were vastly underrated you know… much like the newer Star Wars films were."

Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes, which caused the young man to pout. "Well, they were!" No sympathy from anyone in the room. Of course not! "Fine. Point is, I volunteer." He crossed his arms and looked away, pout firmly in place.

Dawn tilted her head as she focused on him, along with everyone else in the room. "What exactly would you want to see, Andrew?"

Andrew frowned as he turned his gaze back to them. "Good question… so many things to choose from but really at the end of the day, it boils down to two things – the first of course, the time that my cousin Katie stood on my First Edition Han Solo action figure." He ignored the eye rolls from around the room by everyone bar Xander who winced in sympathy at the thought.

The young blonde man fell silent for a moment, and his eyes took on a faraway look as his mind went back to that painful time. Buffy coughed to try and bring him back to the present. When that didn't work, Dawn settled for nudging him in the ribs with her rather bony elbow.

Andrew jumped. "Ow! Hey!" He rubbed his sore side. "Why are you all always so mean to me? It's not fair."

Dawn sighed. "Andrew, shut up. Or rather, shut up about that. What is your second thing?"

He had to focus for a moment to remember his train of thought. "Oh right. That. Yeah, I guess I want to know what would have happened if the Immortal hadn't made me lie to Angel and Spike - about Buffy's relationship with him that time…"

Buffy stilled - even her breathing stopped. That comment made no sense. How could the Immortal - may he burn in hell at **some** stage real soon - possibly have had anything to do with Spike? Or with Spike and Angel together?

She took a step towards the blonde idiot. "Andrew you have about twenty seconds to make that comment make sense or you're leaving this house via the window!"

Andrew squeaked. "What? What do you mean? What'd I do? You asked! I just told you about something…"

Willow placed a hand on his arm to try and settle him a little. "Andrew, I think what Buffy is trying to ask here is… you just said that the Immortal got you to lie to Angel and Spike. Spike is gone, Andrew. He was… he left! Sunnydale, remember? So that comment really makes no sense to anyone."

Andrew swallowed hard as he realised he might just be in a bit of trouble with Buffy. "No… I… he wasn't. Or… rather, he was but he came back." His wary glance noted that the Slayer had gone from being furiously angry and ready to a fight to looking completely devastated.

Buffy looked in his general direction but couldn't really get her eyes to focus on him. Pain was welling up inside and she needed to keep a tight handle on it or she might explode. "He… came back." But not to her… (_Just breathe, Buffy. Just breathe._)

Andrew didn't quite realise the momentousness of the words that he had spoken or why they were having such a big impact on the woman. "Yeah. The shiny amulet thing… it basically pulled his essence in." He tried to remember what The Immortal had told him. "Oh. Right. Yeah, but it tied him to the company apparently. Which Angel runs now?" He looked around for verification but his gaze only met with frosty stares. "Right. Sorry." He bit on his lip. "Should I go?"

Buffy growled. "No. You will tell me the full story. Why were they looking for me? Why did you lie? Why is He with Angel?"

Andrew rubbed at the back of his neck then sat down and shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, the Immortal **told** me to do it. He was in love with you – or so he claimed. And those two… well, from all that I've heard they have never been that good to you. I mean, Spike is awesome and all with the hair and the…" He coughed as he realised he was getting funny looks. "…At that stage, the Immortal seemed so good and kind. Why shouldn't you have that in your life at last?" He shifted nervously and looked at them all, rather defensively. "I'm not the only one who misjudged him, okay?"

Willow sighed. "This is going to be a long night. Anyone want some tea?" Hands shot up and Willow took a note of them then headed out of the room, Kennedy close behind so she could help… and steal a few kisses.

Buffy gave Andrew a moment's respite after they left then focused on him once more. "What else did he tell you about them? Why didn't He come to us again? Why go to Angel?"

Andrew sighed. "I thought I already covered that – Angel runs that company, apparently they fixed it to catch the souled vampire. It was meant to be Angel. They wanted him to be 'their property'. It caught Spike instead." He shrugged. "Apparently Angel made some sort of deal back a year or so ago that saw him taking over the company and that meant that when Spike came back, he was Angel's property. He couldn't come back to you without bringing Angel to you too. He wasn't exactly likely to do that, was he? What with you two having the big, fated love like Han Solo and Princess Leia."

Ignoring Andrew's Geek talk, Buffy relaxed. Okay, that was fine. He hadn't wanted or chosen to stay away from her. He hadn't had a choice… still, would a phone call have hurt? She sighed. "So He is there now? With Angel?" At Andrew's nod she sighed, turned and left the room. She needed to think on that.

Xander turned his attention to Andrew once more. "Well, given that you are proving to be nothing but a liability, why don't you just go right on ahead and use the mirror, hmm?" When no one dissented, Andrew stood and shrugged and walked over to it. "So, which do I go for?"

Dawn growled faintly. "Whatever makes you happiest, idiot!" She swept out of the room to go and check on her sister.


	9. First Contact

Andrew tuned out the sense of disapproval that radiated from just about everyone else in the room and moved to stand in front of the Mirror. It really amazed him that something so plain looking could do something so amazing. In that sense, he supposed it had something in common with Jonathan – after all, most people overlooked him because he was so short but he'd had some pretty cool Mojo…

Of course, the Mirror would be even more amazing if it could send you into the past. Think of the wonderful things he could do! He would be like Sam from Quantum Leap! He could save Marilyn Monroe… though admittedly he wasn't entirely sure who she was. He could do it though… and become a hero. Much like the way that Jonathan had that time but without the Anti-Jonathan thing tagging along, spoiling things. That would be cool!

He let himself enjoy the fantasy for a moment but was forced from it when he spotted Faith heading his way – he really didn't want **her** poking him. He suspected that if Dawn's elbows were bad, Faith's would be worse… much worse.

He closed his eyes and focused – Katie breaking his beloved First Edition Han Solo was perfect. Would it have made a difference if he hadn't been playing with her barbi- action man and been paying attention to her? He pressed the buttons in the sequence that he'd had the foresight to memorise and sat down to watch…

The rest of them watched him for a few moments but quickly grew tired of his pained whimpering. At one stage, Faith would have sworn that he was nearly crying. It wasn't pleasant viewing. As if **anyone** needed to witness that. She looked over at Robin and rolled her eyes. "Betcha wish you'd gotten the chance to teach him, huh?"

Robin's response was merely to shudder before he reached up to pull her down on the sofa beside him, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I see you have gotten over your injuries from last night - I guess that's the benefit of Slayer healing powers, huh? My side still hurts from where that last one threw me into the Crypt."

Faith smiled sympathetically but it quickly turned into something more as she wiggled her fingers at him. "Don't worry – these magic fingers of mine will have you all fixed up later. I do an amazing massage…" She changed the subject as she noticed people glowering at her. "You'd think that now there's one less Hellmouth, things would settle down a little, wouldn't you? The Powers that Be coulda given us at least a **little** reward and stopped the vamps for a while."

Kennedy looked over. "I think that our being alive while some of us died down there was reward enough don't you think?" Faith was tempted to say something just to piss her off but resisted. She just closed her eyes and leaned her head against Robin's shoulder.

**eieio**

Dawn sat down on the edge of Buffy's bed in the room they shared. She sighed and took her sister's hand. "He **did** come for you, Buffy. He came to see you. He just… couldn't stay. Thanks to Angel owing that stupid building – or being in charge of it, whatever."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, I got that. I just… ugh, I want to wring Andrew's neck, you know? And not even a phone call? I mean, even if he **did** believe that me and the Immortal were together, could he not have called me?"

Dawn thought on that for a while, trying to make sense of it by putting herself in Spike's shoes. "I guess… if he thought you were over him, he didn't want to cause you any more misery? I mean, even though you were 'over' Angel, it took a long time for you to be **really** over him. Andrew told him you were happy, maybe that was enough. Besides, if he had called, you would want to have seen him and then again with the Angel thing. Can you say awkward, much?"

Buffy smiled a little. "I wonder how they've managed to not kill each other all this time. Damnit, if I had only known what that stupid shiny Barbara Cartland necklace would do to him, I would have made him take it off as soon as he did his bit. No, I wouldn't have ever let him put it on!" Her expression turned glum as she realised that that wasn't anywhere close to being a workable solution. "Except then, more of us would have died – probably all of us within a ridiculously short space of time – even you!" That last thought didn't bear thinking of.

A thought tickled the back of her mind but when she tried to pull it forward, it slipped completely. With a groan, she flopped down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling then turned her attention back to her sister. "I miss Him. I am getting **really** pissed off with the amount of people I love who have left."

Dawn stroked her sister's hair in the way that Buffy and her mother had done to her more times than she could count. "Yeah, join the club! There's buttons and everything."

**eieio**

As the vision before him faded out, Andrew stepped away from the Mirror. The others were alerted to the fact that it was done by the sound of it powering down – it hadn't been overly loud but they supposed they were rather attuned to it at the moment. As one they turned to look at him. It was Giles who spoke up.

"Well, you're still alive and here so clearly it is true enough. That is good." He shrugged vaguely. (_Probably._)

Faith took a sip of her previously forgotten - and now cold – tea. "So you definitely chose the Han Solo thing… did you make a difference?" Not that she really cared, particularly but she had her own things she needed to know. Didn't they all!

Andrew smiled wistfully. "I… didn't play so much with her dol- Action Man and so I saw her in time and I saved him." He let out a heartfelt sigh as his eyes went dreamy for a second. "I saved Han. It was a truly wonderful moment." The others rolled their eyes but he barely noticed and his expression turned into a frown. "No flying monkeys at the school play though. Isn't that weird?" He wrinkled his nose. "I still ended up siding with Warren though and obviously still here with you all. But it was cool… no broken Han."

Giles cut him off before he could really get started. "Right! Well, that is good. We know that it does indeed show us a different path. That means we can try now and see if it will show us the future – it would definitely be a useful tool, wouldn't it?"

He looked at each of them and knew they were going to say something that he would regret. Surely enough, Xander spoke up:

"While we've got it, well, the thing is… we all have at least one thing that we want to know about… you know, in our past. Could we all maybe take a look?" He looked around the others for support. Giles hoped that they wouldn't be interested but of course in this at least, he was disappointed as the rest nodded enthusiastically… even Willow.

"Would it really be any good though? Why torture ourselves with 'what if's'? Seeing it doesn't change anything. So why look at something that can surely only cause more pain?"

Willow shrugged. "You're forgetting, Giles, that sometimes the things we think would have made a difference, couldn't have made a difference. Like, if I had spoken up and said that the cookies in the cupboard were mine… I'm fairly sure that the other Slayers – or possibly even Xander – would have eaten them anyway," She ignored Xander's rather aggrieved "Hey!" and shrugged. "There's a sense of peace to be found in knowing that too."

The Sorceress put on her most sincere 'resolved face' and Giles sighed - he knew even without waiting for the others to respond that he was beaten. "All right. But I think we should agree to limit ourselves to only one viewing each. Otherwise we could be here for years, seeing our lives pass us by whilst we get stuck living in pasts that never were." This at least they agreed to.

Xander looked around. "So who goes first..?"


	10. What Ifs and Dawn

Given their decision, Willow left the room briefly to round up Buffy and Dawn. When the three returned, the room had fallen silent. Buffy hardly noticed. There were so many things… her Mom, Angel, Cassie, Jesse… how to choose just one? Did she want to see any of them? Oh, she did - all of them, really. Then again, what if the past changed was better? What if she saw a past decision where going the other way would have meant that she got to be with HIM? Were together still? She closed her eyes and pushed the thought away.

**eieio**

Robin wrapped his arm a little more firmly around his girlfriend and considered the Mirror. What would he change? Only one thing but it was impossible. Besides, if he changed it, he might not even be here right now. There was a possibility that none of them would be. If Spike hadn't killed his mother, she would have lived that bit longer probably (maybe). If could well have changed everything and Buffy would have been too old to be called, Faith might never have been called and he would never have met her – or any of them for that matter… He shook his head.

"Count me out – there's really only one thing that I would want to know and that is whether my Mom could have been saved but who knows where that would have taken us. Maybe nowhere. Maybe things would be exactly the same but without me here as I went on to become a happy, well-adjusted teacher elsewhere." He smiled a little then sighed. "I doubt it, of course – Mom's line of work would have taken her out sooner rather than later. If not Spike, some other Vampire or Demon. The timing might have been enough to ensure that none of you were here either. Could have messed it up enough that neither Faith or Buffy got Called… There really is no point in seeing that. I'll pass."

Willow nodded. "I agree with Robin on this. I mean, I'm willing to stand here – or rather sit – and say that you should get to see it but if I'm honest there's only one thing…" She didn't need to say what that was. "But then I wouldn't have met you." She turned to look at Kennedy and smiled. "Besides. I also know that Tara is happy: Happy and safe in Heaven. Some day I will see her again hopefully - but not yet." She shrugged. "Then there's the whole power thing. Wouldn't have had it if she hadn't been taken from the world and I **definitely** wouldn't have had the power for that spell then so we'd probably all be rotting in Sunnydale by this stage otherwise." She stopped talking and Kennedy gave her a comforting hug.

Xander smiled sadly. "No prizes for guessing mine." _ (Anya. My crazy ex-demon love.)_

Dawn shrugged almost nonchalantly. "Mine either." _ (Mommy…)_

A snort arose from Faith. "Where would I even start? So many to choose from… then again, maybe I should just work back to where it all went wrong – if I had just trusted you all more. Maybe things could have been different." She sighed and shook her head. "Then again, I'm damaged goods, right? All the way back to my childhood… how do you even **begin** to fix that!"

**eieio**

Buffy winced sympathetically as her thoughts went to the details of Faith's childhood that the other Slayer had shared with her. It had been harsh. So much worse than children should have to deal with – in a time when she should have been able to trust the adults around her, they had lied and manipulated and used her until she was nearly convinced that up was down, black was white… not something she would wish on her worst enemy even.

Some would say that it didn't excuse all that she had done wrong but in Buffy's mind; it certainly gave her a strong reason for being lost and confused. If that wasn't bad enough, her first Watcher was murdered in front of her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. When she got to Sunnydale, perhaps for the first time in her relatively short life, things looked to be on the up but fate once again intervened - in the form of the rogue watcher Gwendoline Post - to take everything from her and she lost trust in those that should have been able to help her and she had ended up going down the wrong path. Still: She was here now and she had Robin; and she wasn't alone. Things definitely seemed to be improving for the other Slayer. At least they were for one of them!

Her thoughts turned to her own life. Like Faith, where would she ever start? She couldn't think of a single thing that she wanted more than… but even with Him, where would she start? What would she fix? Did she go all the way back? Wipe out their history and the things that had occurred to bond them together? Or accept him as he was and just stop him sticking around as Sunnydale went to hell. Then again, did she really want to know? She was fairly certain it would destroy her if she discovered that they could have had a proper future together if she hadn't let him finish.

The blonde Slayer looked around the Gang and shook her head. "Just one thing…" She smiled faintly. "How would I ever choose either?" She shrugged. "I could of course, for the novelty look at something silly. Like, what would have happened to my favourite sweater if Dawn hadn't borrowed and spilled nail varnish down the front of it." She gave her sister a dirty look that caused the others to laugh a little, breaking the tension that surrounded the group. They laughed even more as Dawn did her best to look offended. "It was totally an accident – you distracted me with talk of cookies." The younger woman smiled sheepishly.

As the group settled down once more, Andrew spoke up. "Well, I've already seen the thing that mattered most to me – while it was cool to see Han Solo still in one piece, given that I'd end up here anyway, I would hate to lose the Flying Monkeys at the school play. They were awesome so what else matters?" He shrugged as Buffy gave him **that** look. "Each to their own and all that. It was the height of all my awesomeness!"

Kennedy shrugged. "Up until the First started meddling, my life was pretty normal and standard. There really wasn't anything I would want to change even if I could. My Grandmother always said that our past moulds us. That we have to accept the good and the bad because it has made us the people we are now… and the person I am now is the one that Willow fell in love with," she smiled at her girlfriend "so how can I complain?"

Which left just Giles… they turned to look at him. "Oh. Well, I'm sure that I can think of something, if I must. I don't see any reason to come out with it right now, however." He looked at them all in turn. "So we are agreed, then? We look once each – if we even want that much – and then from then onwards we use it only to check out the future if it is in fact possible, or we put it away somewhere safe." The group nodded. "Good. Then all that is needed is to decide in what order we will **look**."

**eieio**

Given that Dawn's would be the hardest to watch, she decided to go first to get it out of the way – she didn't think that she could bear to **not** know but at the same time; knowing she could see would only eat away at her.

Given the nature of the event that she would see, the others cleared out of the room to give her privacy and time to deal with whatever she saw there. Buffy paused at the door but there would be no real point staying there. If she couldn't see anything, she would just be frustrated by events unfurling that she couldn't witness. She made eye contact with her sister though. "I'll be up in the room, 'kay? Come tell me?"

Dawn nodded and swallowed hard. The part of her that was still a scared teenager wanted to ask Buffy to stay but the young woman she was fast becoming needed to do this by herself – for herself. "Okay Buffy." She smiled faintly at her sister who smiled in return before walking out then turned her attention to the screen.

**eieio**

Less than an hour later, her sister came into their room, barrelled into Buffy as she sat on the edge of her bed, lost in thought. Dawn clung tightly enough for the Slayer to think that perhaps her sister **had** inherited some Slayer strength from her after all. "Was it... Was Mommy..?"

Dawn shook her head. Through sobs she managed to get her story out: she had wondered what would happen if she went back in time from this point and made such a fuss that their mother hadn't been allowed out of hospital and had instead been monitored with all the high-tech machinery.

When the alarm sounded, Dawn's heart had nearly crushed with panic but also with hope (and the sadness that that entailed given the circumstances) but even with all the medical equipment and staff at their disposal, their Mother hadn't made it. "It was horrible, Buffy. I… wish I hadn't… but then I would always have wondered… I've been so lost, wondering if I could have done something different… what if I'd stayed at home that day? I mean, I wasn't feeling that well but it was Art class and he's there and I…" She sniffled and pulled back a little to look at her sister who stroked her hair reassuringly.

"I've wondered the same thing, too Dawnie. At least now though we know. We don't have to carry that guilt with us." Tears were flowing just as freely down her face now. "If ever a wish could bring someone back…" She sighed and clung to her sister. "At least now we know."


	11. Willow and Robin

The next morning, the gang had once more assembled in the front room. They were unsurprisingly subdued – after Buffy and Dawn had talked together in their room, they had come back downstairs to fill the rest in and talk it over. They hadn't gone to bed until the early hours.

Buffy and Dawn both looked rather fragile that morning so while it had originally been planned for Xander to go next, they went something much less heart-wrenching: Willow's one question – what if she **hadn't** broken the yellow crayon? – seemed like the simplest.

**eieio**

Two hours later, they learned two things: One, that Willow not breaking the Yellow Crayon had changed precious little – she had still ended up friends with Xander and Jesse. In that life though, she had ended up being friends with Jesse first but things had ended up playing out just the same in no time.

That brought them to the second: It seemed that when the past became more or less the same as what **had** been, the Mirror stopped showing automatically. Whether or not that was relevant or useful in any way remained to be seen. For now, it just… was.

Giles considered that. "Well, it does make sense – after all, we are trying to see a "What If". The moment that it becomes an "Already happened", there really is no need to see how things played out because we've already lived it – or we are living it." He pulled off his glasses and brought a handkerchief out of his pocket to clean the lenses. "I think we all need to take a break from the Mirror, to be honest – we have already become rather wrapped up in it."

Surprisingly no one argued with him. It seemed that they were all a little worn out as he was by the things they had witnessed/heard about. He closed his eyes as his thoughts moved to Jenny for a moment but there was no point dwelling on it. Besides, like Willow, he had someone else in his life now – someone whom he loved almost as much as his past love. He also had no doubt that Jenny was happily existing in a Heavenly dimension somewhere – maybe even waiting for him or even just watching over them all, worrying. He smiled a little and shook his head. His Techno-Pagan love had had far more exciting things to do with her Afterlife, he felt sure.

He got up and headed out of the room – a walk outside would clear such deep thoughts from his mind for at least a while. If nothing else, it would be better for him than the Scotch that really called his name. He needed to stay broken from that particular habit.

**eieio**

Buffy returned from patrol that night feeling totally exhausted – for the first time in a very long time, she had managed to get out by herself. Whilst it had been exhilarating to be able to just let loose by herself and not have to worry about anyone else, she had forgotten just how mind-numbingly boring it could be, waiting for something to happen. She had also forgotten just how tiring it could be fighting more than one demon at a time… on top of her very serious lack of sleep that had come back full force after her one day's respite.

Instead of heading up the stairs to the room that she shared with her younger sister, she found herself heading into the Front Room. If anyone were there, she would say that it was simply too much effort to haul her ass all the way up the stairs but as luck would have it, everyone was following Giles' request – everyone but her that was.

"Oh well." She paused for a moment, deliberating between flopping down on the cosy looking sofa or the cosy looking armchair sitting in front of the Mirror. While the sofa should have won out automatically given that she could stretch out, all she could say in her defence as she flopped down in the armchair was that the Mirror called to her on **some** level… it was a call that was hard to resist.

The Slayer sighed and let her mind wander as she studied the Mirror for a moment, taking in the details of the carving on its frame. It really was quite a pretty looking thing – if it was just a normal mirror, it certainly wouldn't look out of place in her and Dawn's room – it would definitely add something. Even the barren surroundings of this room were brightened with its inclusion. For a moment, she did nothing more exciting than trace her fingers lightly over the Mirror's edge but after a while, tiredness made itself known. She sighed and rested her forearms on the table that the Mirror rested upon. A few moments later, she lowered her head to rest. Just for a second…


	12. Conversations with NotDead People

Some time in the Past

Buffy paced the tiny room, waiting for the man who lay sleeping on the cot to awake. Her patience was wearing thin but there was nothing for her to do but wait. And wait, it seemed. Finally though, he stirred. He sat up abruptly as he sensed that he wasn't alone. "Oh hell! What are **you** doing here?"

The Slayer tilted her head, for a moment confused by the fact that she was receiving such a cold welcome – didn't everyone love her? Then she remembered just whom she was talking to. "I believe that we have a mutual dislike of a certain group of people, Ethan Rayne… Work with me to take them out of the way and anything you want can be yours!"

Ethan raised a brow. "That's… quite a big proposition for you, don't you think Buffy?" He frowned – something about the young woman was off but he couldn't place what. "Since when do you play for the Dark Side that you can offer me 'anything I want'?"

The blonde growled. "What is it about this form that makes people forget sense and reason? I am fast losing patience with you all! Her and her stupid big plans!" She pouted for a moment but then took a deep breath. The worst part about taking on the form of a dead person was that after a time, their thoughts started to cloud your thinking. A change was needed: The First changed into the form of one of the dead Potentials. It wasn't a form that the man in front of it recognised but that was okay. It would serve to get the point across. "I am the First!" At the man's blank look, the Potential growled. "The First evil?"

Ethan's eyes widened as the penny dropped. "Well, that does make rather more sense. So why are you showing up here to me?"

The Potential smirked rather evilly at the man. "I am here to make a deal with you – I will get you out of here, in exchange, you will ensure that the Slayer and her group of friends are no longer a threat!" She tilted her head. "What do you desire above all else, Ethan?"

It seemed like rather a big promise to make given the High Security prison that Soldier boy Riley and his friends had dumped him in to but given that he could feel pure evil radiating off the presence before him, who was he to dispute what could and couldn't be done. "If you're the First, you can get me out of here… and I want to be the new God of Chaos!" Well, a man has to have a dream, after all.

**eieio**

Present Day

Buffy paced the overly showy bedroom, waiting for the man who lay sleeping in the four-poster bed to awake. She had grown impatient waiting for news from Ethan Rayne – she supposed he was getting the job done but Caleb would have had it done by now and sought approval from her every single step of the way. Ah Caleb… she switched to his form, taking comfort in it. That made him feel irritated – comfort was a human thing and something he was above. Still, he didn't change again, staying with the familiar brunette's form. "Hey, wake up now! We have things to discuss, little girlies to deal with!" Ethan's bed was given a kick for good measure.

Ethan groaned but rose from his bed. "Relax – things are in motion now, the Slayer has the Mirror, I checked. It's with her. It was easy enough really – all I had to do was bury it near where Cleaver – a mutual friend of mine and Ripper's - was digging and hey presto, one magic Mirror in the possession of your girl. It won't be long now before she's out of your hair."

Caleb frowned. "How can you be sure? She's a wily little thing. She needs to be taught a lesson."

Ethan yawned and scratched his head. "And I'm sure she soon will be." He sighed. "Look, as you requested, the Mirror is with them. It won't be long before the Mirror becomes active and takes Buffy away so stop fretting. Before you ask, no it won't work on anyone else because having read the fine-print, it only works on 'pure desire'. Other people tend to be conflicted about what they want but she's single minded when it comes to what she wants."

Caleb growled. "How exactly can you be sure that she won't use it to her advantage? Perhaps you don't know her as well as you seem to think that you do. What if what she really wants is World Peace?" He shuddered at the very ugly thought.

Ethan snorted and studied him. "The Slayer?" He shook his head. "Trust me – the moment that she realises what it can do, she'll want to see Angel. Doesn't matter about her Gang or anything else. It's what she's always wanted, to be with him – if there's a way to make that happen, that's what she'll go for. There's not a snowball's chance in hell that she will do anything differently. Soon, the Slayer won't have ever been a problem to you!" He grinned and flopped back down on the bed, hands behind his head in a pose of complete relaxation.

He nodded to himself. "Mark my words – she might be a little bewildered to start with but when she realises what's happened, that she's stuck there with no way back – not even if Ripper and the little Witch do their thing – the first thing she's going to do is run straight to that boy of hers and disappear into the sunset… well, technically vampire, so no sun at all but certainly you won't see her. Why would she? No matter what, people are selfish – we all are despite what she'd like everyone to believe. The moment she knows she can do what she wants without consequences, she'll disappear off with him."

He sat up. "Hey, bonus – you'll be taking Angel out of the equation too. That should help you out some given how many of your special vampires were killed off, right? I suspect that the company Angel was fighting off will be **very** glad to help you out once they know of how you got rid of the biggest thorn in their side." He grinned and the man in front of him but it turned to a slightly puzzled frown as with a growl and a "You'd better be right!" Caleb blinked out of sight.

Ethan frowned. "Of course, they did plant that pendant with Angel that would destroy your army in the first place so probably not planning to work with them." He shrugged. "Oh well, not my problem." He shrugged and flopped back down to catch another hour of sleep.


	13. Whoops

Buffy was jarred from her nap by a door banging upstairs – most likely someone on the way back from the bathroom given the earliness of hour. She sighed and straightened out, working the kinks out of her neck. She closed her eyes as she was reminded of her dream: Yet another one telling her that something was imminent. **The** big thing! No hint as to what or indeed, how to stop it of course. Great, just great! "Thanks Mom. And really, at the end of the day, what tops fighting the Master, Angel, The Mayor, The Initiative, a Hellgod called Glory, one of my best friends – and a kinda hopeless trio of idiots all topped up by the First Evil anyway? Seriously, what could be bigger than any of those?"

She sighed and turned her gaze turned automatically to the Mirror. She supposed she should wait until the others were there but she felt the sudden urge to see Him. She had no photos or video of him and she worried that her mind was forgetting things. Surely it wouldn't upset anyone if she looked. There was really one thing that she needed to know – something so big that it played on her mind almost continually: the night in the alley. What if she had played it differently? What if she had actually believed in him and what he was telling her? She didn't think it would have made a difference to the things that played out otherwise but maybe it would have made a difference to **them**. That was the thing she needed to know.

No wait… She sighed as she wished, not for the first time that she could go back in time and just tell her younger self to have even half a clue. Her head ticked to the side. Fine then – what would happen if she were able to go back and actually tell herself to stop being an idiot? If the Mirror actually had the power to change how things would go?

She bit her lip as she thought it over but in truth, her decision was already made – without further ado, she hit the button to start up the 'movie'. Her heart nearly gave out as she saw Him there, on screen. How she missed him!

Spike: You're not going in there (Gestures to the Police Station)

Buffy: I have to do this. Just let me go.

Spike: I can't. I love you.

Buffy (Visibly upset) No, you don't.

Spike: (Visibly angry) You think I haven't tried not to?

The Buffy watching the scene winced as she watched her younger self haul off and punch Spike in the face. Sure, it wasn't anything that they hadn't done before – they seemed to have spent their time trying to beat the snot clean out of each other but this time it was different. When the recently souled Spike had stated that she had needed to hurt herself, he had been right – she couldn't beat herself up though so she'd chosen the only other person who had been able to take it and live… and the person who despite that would stay around. More importantly though, He was the person who caused her hurt simply because he was in pain! When had that started? She didn't really have to think about it – the first time she had actually felt pain at seeing his injuries was after Glory tortured him in hopes of finding out the Key's whereabouts.

She turned her attention back to the scene in time to see the impact of her punch – the blonde vampire flying back into a couple of garbage cans that sat against the wall of the next building. "Try harder!" How her voice grated on her nerves! That tone that she seemed to keep only for dealing with him when really it was aimed solely at herself. Stupid, naïve girl!

Somehow, she can't help but smile as onscreen, Spike suddenly appeared in front of her younger self, grabbed her and threw her to the ground further up the alley. He looked so … lost. If she hadn't been so absolutely freaked out by the thought that she had killed Katrina, that thought might have even registered with her but she was simply too far gone in that moment.

Spike: You are not throwing your life away over this.

Buffy: It's not your choice.

Spike: Why are you doing this to yourself?

Buffy: (Tearful) A girl is dead because of me.

Spike: And how many people are alive because of you? How many have you saved? One dead girl doesn't tip the scale.

Buffy: That's all it is to you, isn't it? Just another body!

Spike: (sighs) Buffy-

Of course she couldn't let him say any more. He didn't get it – how could he get it? He was a demon. He may well have loved her with all his heart but it was really only that love that had changed him. It couldn't change him enough to understand why it was wrong to take even one life. The soul had finally helped him to understand. Tears filled her eyes as she thought that if she **could** go back, she would convince him somehow to get his soul earlier.

The older Buffy shuddered as she was forced to watch herself beating up someone who wasn't even trying to defend himself. In that moment, she had been more of a monster than Spike had ever been – to her way of thinking at least. She could still remember the things that he had told her in hopes of making her kill him so that the First couldn't use him against her. The things he had done to his victims. It was surprising how she tended to forget that his demon could be so evil.

He was so different from Angel – in so many ways. The main thing though, something that she hadn't appreciated at the time was simply that he loved her completely. Angel had only been able to love with his soul – which was great and all, it really was. She knew and appreciated that but he… he had loved her with everything he had – his demon's love for her had been so strong that his soul had instantly fallen in love with her too. Why hadn't she appreciated that at the time?

The thought only made her angry as she witnessed herself onscreen leaving him there in the alley, bruised and beaten. She let out an angry growl and before she had time to stop herself – or even realise what she was doing, she was aiming a punch at the Mirror. Thought briefly whirled through her head that Giles was going to kill her but instead of the shattering she had expected when her fist made contact, there was just a strange sensation of… magic… _**"Oh SHIIIIIT!"**_

**eieio**

Willow bolted upright as she heard Buffy's scream. She rushed downstairs into the front room but there was no one there. She looked around for a moment, puzzled – had she only been dreaming? She must have been…

She spotted the chair that Buffy had been sitting on but which was now lying on its back. She sighed and moved over to right it but as she did so, her eyes widened as she caught sight of something in the Mirror… of the Buffy she had seen only a few hours ago standing in an Alley in Sunnydale, glaring furiously at her younger self.

She looked around the room to ensure that there really was no one else there but of course there wasn't – even if there was, she wouldn't have been able to see their vision. That was the way that it worked. Unless… She paled slightly. "Oh, this can't be good."

She sat down in front of the Mirror to watch the scene that she shouldn't have been able to witness if it really were a simple vision playing out.

**eieio**

Buffy had to take a few moments to adjust. What the heck had just happened? What was the strange sensation that had stolen through her? She looked around and realised with a start that she was back in Sunnydale… and in the alley where she had just witnessed her younger self beat Him up. She turned around confused, spotted him lying on the ground so badly beaten. For a moment, she was tempted to run to him but something held her back – if He was there, that meant that her younger self must be there too.

This didn't feel like her usual dreams but what else could it be? (It would only be later that she would question just how she had been able to witness stuff that already was when the others had already verified the Mirror shut off when the vision came in line with their reality)

The Slayer grinned as she realised she had the perfect opportunity to knock some sense into herself before it was too late. Perhaps even that little bit of closure that a dream offered would grant her a little bit of peace. She whispered a short apology to the beaten vampire then took off running.

She caught up with herself just as she left the Police Station. She followed until the perfect opportunity announced itself then she dived at the younger blonde and dragged her into a darkened alley.

Of course she was stronger than the other woman – continual training and the added months helped. The younger Slayer was soon beaten black and blue and all that she could think of before she passed out was that Glory had somehow made it back into the world and was now seeking revenge.


	14. Consequences

A/N: To save a little confusion, the younger Buffy will be called Anne.

**eieio**

Willow could not take her eyes off the scene playing out in front of her. The Buffy beating up the other… there was no doubt in her mind that she was **their** Buffy. That meant that something had gone seriously wrong – all the texts that they'd waded through, not one suggested that being sucked into the vision was possible. In fact, quite a few said it was **im**possible… yet there Buffy was – beating up her younger self, apparently. Given her hairstyle, she had to assume it was around the time that Andrew and his gang were tormenting the Slayer.

Why had she been thinking about that time specifically? She rolled her eyes – of course it had to have something to do with Spike. What though? She frowned as she tried to think of what could be her biggest regret. Other than the whole relationship! No, that wasn't fair. She realised now that Buffy did love Spike but back then… she hadn't played so nicely with the non-souled vampire. Perhaps she had wanted to make amends in some way.

How was she going to tell everyone about **this** latest mess that Buffy had somehow landed herself into? How was she going to tell Dawn?

**eieio**

Buffy paced across the floor of the disused building as she tried to gather her wits about her. She knew this wasn't a dream now. She always knew when she was dreaming and this was definitely not one of those times. That had become apparent the moment that the adrenaline had left her system… that meant that the Mirror which was supposed to be only for viewing past events (possibly future too but that was still unknown as yet) had in fact pulled her into her not so distant past. Boy, was Giles going to get it when she saw him next!

She stopped pacing as the enormity of the situation hit her – she was never going to see them all again. Not if she was trapped here. Sure, in time she could probably make them understand what had happened and that she was definitely not a threat but all the problems they had had with doppelgangers in the past meant that it wouldn't be easy. Besides, she wasn't one hundred percent convinced that they had need of **one** Buffy never mind two!

Then again, there was one person who could definitely do with her help right now – the person that Anne had beaten up so badly this very night. If anyone deserved someone being nice to him at long last, it was Spike _(Funny how it's easier to at least think his name, knowing that he is once more in existence)_. She glared at her younger self for another moment then headed out of the building, hoping she would find him at his Crypt.

**eieio**

About an hour after Willow had started watching the Mirror, Kennedy came in. It was a quiet moment so the redhead managed to peel her gaze from the scene. "Hey baby… um, can you get the Gang in here please?" Kennedy took one look at her and knew it was serious so didn't bother to question. She just did as she was told.

**eieio**

When the group had made themselves comfortable in the room, sitting down in their favourite spots, it was Xander who finally spoke up: "Okay Will, sweeping the pleasantries out of the way this morning – you know, did you sleep well and all that… 'cause clearly you didn't what with the bags – nay, luggage - under your eyes… anyway, I digress – what are you seeing on there that's got you looking so freaked?"

Giles looked at her in an almost accusing manner. "And just why are you watching the Mirror when I distinctly remember everyone agreeing to give it a break – surely nothing could be that important that it couldn't have waited at least until the evening – or even just a reasonable time of the morning. I'm sure that you don't need me to say that I'm rather disappointed in you…"

Willow sighed. "Wish there was a pause button on this…" She looked at the screen for another moment then made the decision to turn away – hopefully she wouldn't miss anything important in the meantime. "Okay first off, Giles – I didn't start watching it. Or rather, I did but actually not off my own bat. I heard Buffy scream a while back, sounded like she was in here." She shook her head as she caught the worried look that crossed Dawn's face. "She's not hurt, Dawnie. Don't worry."

Her gaze skipped back to the screen for a moment before returning to Giles. "Not so much a scream of fear more one of someone taken off guard." She rolled her eyes. "Anyway, sorry… came down here, no Buffy but this chair was upended. Went to fix that and… well, there's really no easy way to say this." She smiled apologetically at Dawn. "I saw Buffy in the Mirror."

Kennedy gave her a quizzical look. "Ooo-kay… so you started a vision after all? I thought you didn't want to see."

Willow shook her head. "No, no… that's not…" She huffed out a breath. "I didn't do this – this is something else, I'm afraid. It's **our** Buffy. She was back in Sunnydale, around the time that Andrew and his gang were making her life difficult."

She groaned in frustration as she was met with only blank expressions. "I'm not saying this right…" She glanced over at the screen again, checking that nothing momentous was happening. "Buffy somehow got sucked into the Mirror – the scene I saw was of her beating up her younger self – right now, she's standing outside Spike's crypt but doesn't seem able to go in there."

She had never really got the expression 'jaws hit the floor'. Now she did. When everyone had calmed down a little, she gestured for them all to each look in the Mirror for themselves.

**eieio**

Buffy stood in front of Spike's crypt, trying to make herself walk inside. Why couldn't she take those last few steps and open the door? This should be easy! Okay, he probably wasn't going to be that thrilled to see her right now but she would apologise and that would be a start… but what if he rejected her? She didn't doubt that ensouled Spike loved her, she didn't even doubt that his demon loved her too but what she did doubt was that this Spike was ready for her somehow. What if she wasn't what he wanted at all? There was always the possibility that he would recognise that she wasn't 'his' Buffy. He had recognised the wrongness of Faith being in her body when even her closest friends hadn't registered it.

She scowled at herself. This was ridiculous! Spike loved her - she knew that. Not a fibre of her being denied that fact. A couple of years wouldn't make a difference to him. It was just nerves, that was all it was. Nerves. _(Forget it, push it down and walk in there and give him some much-needed TLC!)_

She stayed just where she was.

**eieio**

To say that Spike was confused was putting it mildly. He could sense Buffy outside but she didn't come in. He didn't have the energy right then to get up off the slab that served as a bed to see what the problem was. Maybe her loitering around was because she had decided to finish what she started earlier that day and just stake him – put them both out of their misery once and for all.

His confusion only grew as her presence disappeared. Apparently today wasn't the day that he died at her hands… he sighed and turned the telly back on and closed his eyes. "Been on this earth for over a Century and still don't understand bloody women."

**eieio**

Anne had surfaced from her unconsciousness and was hit instead by panic… she was tied up and the knots appeared totally unbreakable. She also had absolutely no clue as to where she was. She almost whimpered at the pain that told her the beating by the female who was possibly Glory hadn't been just a figment of her imagination.

She finally did her best to ignore the pain, pushing it down to try and work at the knots as she tried to work out just where Olaf the Troll God's hammer was these days – just in case. If Glory **had** somehow got back to add to her misery, she was going to need it, wasn't she?

A groan of frustration hit her – why hadn't she thought of it before now? What if after the battle, the others were too busy lifting her broken body up to bother with something as awkward and unwieldy as the hammer? Even Spike had had difficulty lifting the thing and out of all of them, he had been the strongest back then. What if they'd just left it there? What chance did she stand against her latest foe when they were able to beat her up so easily – and so thoroughly – in such a short space of time? Perhaps she would be returning to her grave again after all.

She scowled and pushed the thoughts aside to concentrate on getting free.

**eieio**

The First was pleasantly surprised to realise that for once when visiting Ethan Rayne, he was awake and not lazing about on his bed. The feeling of pleasant surprise caused a shift to Caleb's form, a smile spreading across his face as he considered just how he was going to break necks… soon. Just as soon as the hateful Slayer was out of his hair – preferably in a slow and painful manner!

Ethan looked over. "Ah, just in time – you'll be pleased to hear that I got word last night that the Mirror became active. Our girl took the bait. I imagine that by now, she's on her way to Los Angeles to pick up her idiotic loverboy." He grinned at the other man but it changed to a look of bewilderment when the form just glowered back at him. "Thought that would have made you happy."

Caleb scowled. "I'll be happy only once those vermin have been returned to the dust beneath my feet. Ruined my plans one time too many for my liking – I shall enjoy hearing the sound of their necks breaking."

Ethan paled slightly at that. "Uh yeah, you can count me out on that one mate. Not so big on the up-close-and-personal deaths. Much prefer dealing with Chaos." He grinned widely. "Knowing that I've put a big Kibosh on Ripper's plans does make a man feel good about himself. Oh, sorry – I meant god-in-waiting… It makes a god-in-waiting feel good about himself!"

"You'd better be right!" The First glowered at the other man before fading out.

**eieio**

Dawn knew that she was meant to be grown up and mature now – she was after all meant to be a woman now rather than a teenage child… yet at the news that her sister had left her **again** all she had wanted to do was run from the room, lock herself in her bedroom and sob her heart out. Why did her family keep leaving her? Why especially did Buffy keep leaving her? How much was she meant to take, exactly?

She had managed to leave the room quietly when they were all busy discussing the implications of Buffy being gone once more. Now she stood outside on their small area of lawn, eyes closed as she tried to remain calm. She sighed as she heard someone walk up behind her. If it was Andrew, she was definitely going to kill him… or at least shout at him until he went away.

The woman turned a little to look out of the corner of her eye then smiled a little as she realised who it was that had come to talk to her. "I should have known you'd see."

Xander stopped when he was standing by her side and offered her a smile. "Hey, I might only have one eye now but still very little gets past me." He smirked. "I guess you could probably do it by sneaking away on my other side but not this time." He smiled a little at her. "I'll remember that for next time." He sighed softly. "Seems that she's always leaving us, doesn't it?"

Dawn smiled faintly – a smile laced with some bitterness. "You know how she never seems to be able to hold down a regular career? Shame you can't earn money from leaving your family behind… she'd be President of that in no time."

Xander shook his head. "You don't wanna go down that road, believe me Dawnie – once I was part of the 'I Hate Cordelia' fan club…" He frowned. "You know how that one turned out – at least until I messed that one up."

Dawn frowned and turned to him. "Xander, can you please do me a favour and stop calling me Dawnie. I'm not a little kid any more. Technically, I never was, y'know? But now…" She shrugged. "I would prefer Dawn."

Xander looked at her for a moment. When had his best friend's little sister grown up so much anyway? For someone who saw so much, he had still managed to miss something important like that. Then again, it had probably happened so gradually that it was hard to notice. He nodded slowly. "Okay, I can do that. Dawn it is."

The young woman nodded. "Good." She paused as something occurred to her. "Wait, did you just insinuate that somehow, I would end up dating my sister then breaking her heart?"

Xander blinked. "Unfortunately, it does appear that I somehow managed to do that. My bad." He smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder. He spent a moment just staring out at the landscape in front of them as he tried to get what he wanted to say right in his own mind.

"You still have us, Dawn. No matter what happens, you still have us." He shrugged. "Seems like we're all that most of us have – apart from Giles. Y'know, I still prefer Miss Calendar. At least she was into this stuff. He hardly sees this new one." He shook his head. "Not that that matters right now, of course."

He wrapped an arm around Dawn's shoulders. "You still have us, you always will. As to Buffy, doesn't that mean she's still there somewhere? We'll see her again. Or soon. Something. Amazing isn't it, that for such a nerd, I still can't wrap my mind around how time travel works." He grinned and shook his head. "I can always get Andrew back there to explain the whole thing to you if you want…" He gestured with a thumb over his shoulder to the house.

Dawn shuddered. "No. Thank you. I think I'd rather take Buffy's stake and shove it into each eye in turn than spend time willingly with him." She winced a little as she her gaze ticked to his lost eye. "Sorry."

Xander shrugged. "It's fine – it's actually a statement that I can agree with one hundred percent." He laughed softly then looked at her properly. "At least we know it wasn't deliberate on her part, Dawnie. Sorry – Dawn. Willow said she sounded like she was taken by surprise."

Dawn nodded. "I know. It just…. It still gets tiresome, y'know?" Xander squeezed her close for a moment then let her go. "You coming inside?"

She shook her head. "In a minute. I'm just… going to sit out here a while." She lowered herself onto the grass." When he didn't leave immediately, she spoke again. "You can stay too, if you want."

Xander sat.


	15. Confusion

Two or three cups of tea later, Giles came into the room and sat down beside Willow. He was silent for a moment as he tried to think of the words that he wanted to say, of the point that he needed to make. Willow beat him to it.

"This could change everything. I mean Buffy… Buffy could change everything." She turned away from the Mirror to look at him. "What if she does, Giles? What if she changes everything? She could, at least in theory save Tara – and Anya. But if she chooses to save Tara, would I be strong enough to do that spell? What about Kennedy? I love her too but… **Tara**, you know? I'm so confused."

Giles rested a hand on her shoulder. "I wish I knew what to say. Of course there's always the possibility that she will listen to your words and do nothing. At least there is the comfort of knowing that Tara is in Heaven. After all, why wouldn't she be?" He frowned. "We just have to trust that when it comes right down to it, Buffy will do the right thing. Failing knowing what it is for definite, she will take the time to think the possibilities through logically and come up with the right one."

Giles carefully kept his gaze averted from Willow's. While he knew his Slayer possessed many virtues, patience and logical thought weren't always her strong points, preferring to go with what felt right to her – admittedly, that had served her well on occasion. If she had agreed with the group and stayed away from the vineyard, would they have ever gotten the Scythe? No, they would all be dead, of that he had no doubt.

What good would it do, though, if Willow wasn't strong enough to do the spell? If Buffy chose Tara but together, the two weren't as strong as Previously-dark Willow? It was a worrying possibility… and they had absolutely no way of preparing for it. **They **couldn't change the past. It appeared their fates were completely in the hands of his Slayer. It was an extremely sobering thought.

**eieio**

Buffy sat in the room with Anne who was conscious but gagged. She needed time to think. She had no clue how to get back to her own time – or if that was even possible. Perhaps she could convince the gang that she was her future self but even if she could, she doubted that they could get her back. After all, hadn't they waded through text after text trying to find out information about the Mirror and **nothing** had told them that altering the past was a possibility.

Bearing that in mind, she would have to go with the assumption that she was stuck in this world until someone else told her otherwise. Which meant that she was going to have to work out what to do if this was her life now. She cast her glance over to a terrified Anne. What was she going to do with her? It wasn't like she could kill her – this was her younger self. That would probably kill her too… did she really want to leave them though? Leave her family behind? Leave Spike? She knew she couldn't do that. What else could she do though?

She didn't **want** a life standing on the sidelines, damnit!

She scowled and stood up, aware that she was hungry – she would have to go and get something to eat for them both. She eyed her younger self and headed for the door once more. "Behave!"

Anne looked up at her through the gloom, her relief almost palpable that the other woman was leaving her. She started counting, gave it to three hundred before she risked getting to work in untying her bonds once more. She could do this – yes, the woman was stranger and no, she didn't have Olaf's hammer but that didn't mean that she was helpless. She had been able to hold her own against Glory for a few moments previously and that was all she needed – a few moments… a chance.

**eieio**

Unfortunately for Buffy and Anne, the only place open at that time of night was the Double Meat Palace. The smell of the place still made Buffy want to be sick but there really was nothing else. They did however, have salads. That would have to do. She bought two and got free sodas with them. Joy! She could always throw out the meat when she got around to eating it. She headed back.

As she walked back into the building, she noted Anne sitting in her chair, slumped over. "Nice to be able to sleep at times like this." She snorted and shook her head. She walked over to the younger woman and set the food down on the ground beside her. As she did, she was more than a little surprised to be grabbed suddenly, a heavy punch to her side temporarily winding her. She managed to break free, however and shift away from the woman. "I knew I should have checked your bonds before I left."

Anne glared at her. "Who are you and what do you want?" She stood primed and ready for a fight.

Buffy in turn, raised her fists and glared. "Right now, I want you to sit down and eat the salad I brought so that I can eat m-" She was cut off before she could say any more though, as Anne landed a right hook to her jaw.

"Ow?" She rubbed her jaw. "You are **really** annoying, you know that? I see what Spike means now."

Anne paled slightly. "Spike did this? Is this another one of his cunning tricks? Keep the Slayer all tied up and set Glory on her because she refused to…"

Buffy gave her a disbelieving look, cut her other self off quickly before she could feel any more offended on her love's behalf. "Oh please – how does that even make any sense? What, you think he managed to conjure up a spell to bring Glory back from whatever backwater hell she slunk off to went to when you beat her to a pulp? Please **try** and use your brain! You're an embarrassment."

Anne growled, did something she never really did and moved to slap the other woman. Buffy blocked her however, by grabbing her hand before it could impact with her cheek.

In that instant, Anne knew. "You're… me…" A bright flash spread through the room. When it cleared, only Anne remained.

Anne blinked furiously as she looked around, waiting for her eyes to adjust to the gloom once more. "Uh oh…"

**eieio**

Willow witnessed the confrontation and indeed, the white light that enveloped the room. She also saw the fact that now, only Anne stood there. She could only echo Anne's sentiment. "Uh oh…"

…and then the Mirror exploded…


	16. Oh Snap!

Willow screamed even as her hand's moved automatically to cover her face as she tried to move out of the way but the shards hit regardless. They should have cut her skin to ribbons. Should have, but didn't. The shards reacted like snow on her skin, melting into nothing more harmful than water as they reacted to the heat of her body.

Faith was the first to reach the room, stopped and looked at a peculiarly wet Willow. She was relieved to see that she hadn't disappeared like Buffy. Not relieved enough to say it but it showed in her expression all the same. "Will, you couldn't have taken time to dry your hair after your shower? Seriously… this Mirror is eating too much into your time." Her gaze turned to the Mirror. "Uh… Willow, where's the Mirror?"

Willow coughed and brushed her wet hair out of her face. "Funny story…" She looked at everyone as they came in, the first of which being Kennedy who looked very relieved to see her standing there in one piece – relieved to see her standing there at all, in truth. "Willow, what happened? What's wrong? I heard your scream but I was upstairs…" She moved over to her. "Why are you wet?"

Willow waved her hand vaguely in the direction of the Mirror, wondering how she could explain it to them – to Dawn – in a way that wouldn't cause chaos.

She slumped slightly as she realised that she couldn't. It was what it was. And it wasn't good. She looked at the all, her gaze lingering on Dawn, Giles and Xander for a few moments. "The… uh… The Mirror exploded."

Chaos ensued for about ten minutes. When they quietened down, Giles was the one to get Willow to explain everything up to the moment of explosion.

Willow sighed and sat down, thanking Andrew as he passed her a towel he had run to get for her during the chaos which had been too boring for him to focus on.

The redhead shook her head. "One minute the two were fighting, the next one grabbed the other's hand. There was a blinding flash. When that cleared, only the younger Buffy remained… then the Mirror exploded." She shrugged helplessly. "That's it. I'm sorry."

Everyone tried to talk at once but stopped at Andrew's muttered "Of course!"

Faith turned to look at who had spoken. When she realised that it was Andrew, she just about managed to suppress a sigh. Then again, he could be useful at times. She would let him talk. If it was anything stupid though... "You wanna share with the rest of us what you think is going on here, Andrew?"

Andrew blinked and looked at her, surprised to be asked. He nodded and then spoke. "Well, it's pretty clear really – every show I've ever watched has shown that two of the same person can't exist in a reality. I mean, look what happened to Captain Samantha Carter in Point of View." At the blank looks from everyone, he sagged a little. "Stargate SG1; Season 3; Episode 6?" He sighed as they still looked blank. "She suffered Temporal Entropic Cascade Failure." He groaned as he was met with still more blank looks.

He slumped in defeat. "Fine. Two of the same people can't exist in the one reality. Either Buffy had to leave or she was pulled into the younger one that Willow…"

A ripple went through the room that knocked everyone unconscious.

It was about five minutes before they started coming to, confused. As they shook it off, they looked around blankly. Faith was the first to react. "Hey, where's Buffy..?"

**eieio**

Buffy looked around confused. Where had her younger self gone? What was going on? Had she done some weird magic and escaped? She shook her head – clearly the bright light had thrown off her thought process. She couldn't do magic. At all. The last time she had done any it had been, for what? Oh yes, the spell to discover if someone had cast a spell on her Mum to make her so sick… they hadn't but it was then she discovered that something was different about her sister. She didn't belong somehow.

She shook her head and growled slightly. Now was not the time to be thinking about this. She needed answers. She needed to know what sort of magic she was dealing with. If Anne was gone, she'd head straight to the Gang. She could no longer afford to stay there and hide. Anne herself might not be able to overpower her but Anne with Willow and the rest most likely could. She had no choice but to reveal herself and hope that they could see the truth in what she said.

**eieio**

She stood in wait, hidden in the shadows outside their favourite coffee shop. No doubt Willow would show up sooner or later. She would find the patience from somewhere to wait…

**Eieio**

Two hours later, Buffy was about to give up on this approach when Tara appeared before her. Her brain had to take a moment to process that. Tara. It was actually Tara! She was here, alive and breathing once more – well, still breathing rather. Before she had time to register what she was doing, she had rushed over to her and engulfed her in a hug, the quieter woman squeaking a little but fortunately getting her coffee out of the way so it didn't scald either of them. "Tara! Oh my God, it's so good to see you."

Tara's face wore a rather bewildered expression as she pulled back from the rather awkward hug. "Um… y-you too. Though I didn't think it was **that** long since I saw you last." She pulled back from her. "Wait, is something wrong? Did something happen? Willow… is she okay? Is everyone okay?"

Buffy grinned and shook her head. "Everyone is fine. I just, I'm glad to see you is all."

This was even better than Willow showing up – Tara had known it was her before – or rather that it was someone else in her body – when Faith pulled that switcharoo thing with her, trying to escape the country in her body. She would see the truth now too, right?

Wait… she wasn't freaked out at seeing her. Why wasn't she freaked out at seeing her older self? "You're not freaked out at seeing me?"

Tara looked at her quizzically. "Well, n-no. Should I be? I mean, you're probably here for W-Willow, right?" She looked down, noted that some of her coffee had spilt on her boots despite her best, hurried efforts. Oh well, it didn't matter. She could clean them – or buy new ones she supposed.

Buffy followed her gaze and spotted the boots and winced. "Darn, I ruined your boots… wow, they are beautiful. Where did you get them…" She shook her head to clear away random thoughts and looked back up at her friend. "Never mind that. I'll give you the money for a new pair. You really aren't freaked out at seeing me?"

Tara looked at her, backed up a little. She shook her head slowly. No, this was definitely just normal Buffy – no Faith or anyone hiding away. Her aura was fine if a little more erratic than usual. "Why would I be?"

Buffy frowned. This conversation was just getting weirder. "Well, because I'm not me. Well, I mean, I **am** me but I'm **not** me… do you see? Oh, that rhymes." She grinned a little, amused despite herself.

Tara laughed along slightly nervously. "Uh huh. Buffy are you feeling okay? Did you take something? Did someone do something to you?" Her thoughts immediately turned to Willow. Had the other witch done another spell that had gone awry? She closed her eyes a moment, her heart sinking at the prospect – she would have to stop her somehow but she didn't have a clue as to how… if losing Tara wasn't enough of an incentive to stop, what else could she possibly do?

Buffy looked at her. "What? No! No. At least… well, they did but… I'm not high or anything. Just… confused." She frowned. "Do you have a mirror?"

Tara looked even more wary now. "W-why?"

The Slayer could only snort at how this conversation was turning out. "I want to check out my reflection."

"Oh! Oh, okay." That was normal. That was definitely a normal thing to do. Wasn't it? The shy woman nodded and reached into her bag, pulled it out and passed it over. "Here you go."

Buffy took it with a muttered thanks and looked at it. "Ohhh… I see. I'm her. Well, not her, exactly. I was always her but I'm me in her now."

Tara realised now that something was very, very wrong. While Buffy was examining herself in the Mirror, she started edging backwards, hoping to get away so that she could tell Giles and the others that something needed to be fixed. Again. That they needed to save the day. Again. That was what they were always there to do though, right?

She was so focused on her thoughts that she had actually forgotten Buffy – right until the moment that the Slayer grabbed her arm (not hard) and pulled her back. "Sorry Tara, I'm thinking you were probably right. Giles got me doing one of those meditation things and I guess it left me kinda loopy." She frowned. "Hey, how about I buy you a coffee to make up for the one that I spilled…"

Tara looked at her and frowned. "I d-don't really feel up to talking about Willow, Buffy. I don't think I have the e-energy right now."

Buffy shook her head and relaxed her grip on her friend's arm, trying to remember just where she was, what had happened… oh yes, Tara and Willow split up due to Willow's addiction to magic. If memory served, this was shortly after Willow had driven the car – with Dawn inside – high on magic. "Don't really want to talk about her either at this moment." She shook her head. "The uh… thing with Dawn in the car is still a little too raw."

Tara sagged a little in relief. "Alright." She headed back to the coffee shop with Buffy.

**eieio**

As they drank their coffee, Buffy made a concerted effort to ground herself in her current reality. She carefully steered away from any conversation relating to Willow but she needed to ask something. Something very important. Obviously she couldn't just out and out Tara what she needed to but she could subtly bring it up.

"Hey Tara, if someone you loved was to die and you could go back and change it. Would you do it? Knowing it could make some things better but some things worse?" _(Oh well done Buffy… subtle as a brick!)_

Tara looked pained. "I … you know we were sorry for what we did, Buffy. We truly believed though, that we were doing the right thing. I mean, we knew it wasn't **right** as such but we truly believed you had been sucked into the Hell dimension that Glory had opened up and it's what we all agreed to. We just hated the thought of you being forced to suffer eternally when you had given your life to save Dawn – and the world."

Buffy stopped her talking with a wave of her hand. "I'm not talking about me. I'm talking about in general. Not like what happened to me at all, really – I mean, if you had a time machine and could go back and stop someone dying so there wouldn't be consequences like there was with me being brought back."

Tara shook her head. "There are always consequences, Buffy."

The Slayer sighed. "Tara, I know. It's not like I'm going to do it." She smiled brightly and gestured around them. "See? No Time Machine. Not even a TARDIS – though that would be kinda neat. First thing I would do is somehow become friends with a great shoe designer. He – or she – would make me **lots** of pretty shoes." She grinned and shrugged. "I just…" She tried to think of a believable lie. "I dreamt about Mom last night is all. I got a chance to go back and change things – properly. Not with a spell. I guess it got me thinking." She shrugged helplessly.

Tara relaxed and nodded in understanding. "I see. Okay, well that's a different scenario then. Still though, given how much you've been through, it's probably a better idea to leave things, don't you think? I mean, we should have known that you couldn't have been anywhere else but Heaven. So naturally, we'd have to assume that any of us will end up there given that we're working for the Greater Good. I mean, take for instance, if I were to die tomorrow: I don't think I'd end up in a Hell Dimension. Not that I'm saying I'm perfect but…"

Buffy smiled a little and petted her hand. "There's no way that you'd end up anywhere but in Heaven Tara, when it's your time. Far, **far **from now."

It was decided then – she had to leave Tara as she was. How could she change anything and risk Willow not becoming strong enough? She would be dooming the whole human race. If the others ever found out that she had had the chance to save everyone but had let it go, they would hate her… It was a horrible choice but she saw no way around it.

Grim.


	17. Onus

Buffy sat upstairs in her room. She had a notepad in front of her and was trying to think; to come up with a plan that would work; a plan that would make the best use of her knowledge from the Future. She couldn't save Tara but there were other things that she could do – getting to Faith sooner would be a good plan, getting to know the names of the different Potentials wouldn't be bad either… oh, she could always stop that damned demon from ruining Anya and Xander's wedding too. That would be nice.

She frowned in thought. Then again, hadn't Anya been useful as a Vengeance Demon too? She had been able to work with them, get to the others quickly, giving them precious time away…

She threw her pencil and pad angrily across the room. This was far too much responsibility for her to take on. What she needed was Willow – but that was obviously not an option given that she was going Cold Turkey at present. No, for the moment at least, she was all alone. Seemed like the more that things changed, the more they stayed the same!

Buffy closed her eyes and took a breath and tried to calm down a little. She shifted a little on the bed and got comfortable in a traditional meditation pose. For twenty minutes, she did nothing but the basic exercise that Giles had taught her so long ago.

It helped. She sat on the bed twenty minutes feeling refreshed and with a clear head. Okay, she couldn't work on everything right now – perhaps it was best to just take everything as it came and see how it went. First things first though, there was something she **could** do which wouldn't have consequences.

The Slayer got up off her bed and moved across her room, picking up the pen and paper she had flung away in frustration then sat back down once more. This time, she was going to draw something.

**eieio**

Buffy sat down at the kitchen table and looked across at her sister. "Okay Dawn, I need you to do something for me. You're so very good at this research thing and me, well, I just… suck." She sighed and passed over the pad she had drawn on earlier.

"I need you to find out everything you can about this. I mean **everything**.No detail is too small, okay? It looks just like that – really big and tacky."

Dawn lifted the drawing and studied it, looked unimpressed. "Do you have a name?" Buffy wanted to laugh as Dawn only started to show real interest when she shook her head no. Clearly this was a big enough problem to satisfy her very brainy sister.

The older woman could only shake her head in wonder and stroke her sister's hair. "It never ceases to amaze me that you ended up so smart given that we're related. I mean, you're not just my sister, you're a part of me…" She trailed off and Dawn smiled. "Defies belief but that's okay, I love you anyway Buffy." She shifted over and hugged her sister. "I'll get to this right away. Well, right away after breakfast." She grinned and got up and left the room to leave the pad in her room where she could work on it in peace.

**eieio**

Buffy had thought long and hard about picking up the Scythe earlier on but in truth, that might not be the best course of action. No, she would leave it – as bad and all as it was to have Caleb and the First there, it was better for them to be in Sunnydale rather than having to shift everyone. Then again, wouldn't they come there anyway? Everything was already drawn to the Hellmouth anyway.

She groaned and banged her head down on the table.

Dawn looked up from her research. "Buffy, you okay?"

Buffy took a deep breath and straightened up once more, brushing stray hair out of her face. "Fine. Yeah, I'm fine. Just… tired. And antsy – you know how I get with research." It was as good an excuse as any, wasn't it.

She closed the book she had been pretending to read through and stood. "I think I'm gonna go patrol." She looked out the window. "I guess it's a bit early yet but I wanna grab a coffee in town so, I'll see you later." She frowned. "Call me if you need me – or call Xander. Okay?"

Dawn only nodded before getting back to her research – the amulet was proving ridiculously elusive even compared to the many other things they'd had to find over the years… a picture of the actual thing would help but she supposed that would be too easy. She had lost count of the number of websites that she had trawled through but that was okay. That was good - it gave her something to focus on, something else that allowed her to not think about the mess that was Willow or about her broken relationship with Tara. That all hurt far too much.

**eieio**

Despite Buffy's supposed best intentions, she found herself outside the vineyard. With a resigned sigh, she headed inside. "Oh well – won't kill me to look, will it?"

The Slayer made her way down the stairs warily – who knew, the First could be there already, right? She met no resistance or argument. There was no problem getting to the space where the Scythe lay. She could even see it clearly poking out of the black goo as she walked in.

She snorted softly as she moved over to it, amused to discover that Caleb and his creepy Bringers hadn't managed to remove much of the tarry substance (comparatively.)

It still called to her. It was **hers**! With a shrug, she reached for it. It was meant to be with the Slayers long ago – she would take what she could get – if getting it early could save even one death, then so be it. Somehow it still surprised her how easy it slid out of the goo it resided in. She twitched slightly as she realised the sensation had been familiar – and not because she had done it before. Something else… what was it?

Buffy sagged a little as she remembered – the day that she had taken Faith's knife and stabbed it into her gut. The Scythe had slid out of that goo as easily as Faith's knife slid into her. Funny how that memory still filled her with guilt and shame!

She sighed and headed out of the Vineyard then stopped as it occurred to her that she was forgetting something. What was it? Something to do with the date? What date was it anyway? She pulled her phone out of her pocket and stared at it. Ohh… the day before her birthday.

Buffy couldn't suppress a groan as she realised that she had been back here quite a while and hadn't managed to give Dawn any more attention than she had last time (other than giving her the job of researching the amulet). That probably meant they were all going to get stuck in the house again for her birthday.

She shrugged. "Can't be helped." She started walking again, aware that she would have to head home to get ready to go to the Double Meat Palace. "Hi Ho, Hi Ho… it's off to work I go…" She took a moment to consider that for someone who had previously been rather depressed, she was being rather chipper. Then again, why shouldn't she be? Everything was… still the same but now Spike was alive. That was the best thing she could have ever asked for. Life was… good.


	18. Older but Not So Far Away

Buffy let out a sigh as she stood in the living room with Dawn, a bag open and waiting for the weapons she had left on the table for that night's patrolling. "I'm sorry."

Dawn shrugged, long used to this. "It's okay."

Buffy scowled slightly, hating that she was going through all this again, hating that her sister had still received some much needed TLC that she had really planned to give her to make up for her neglect as of late. She reached out and stroked her hair. "Some day real soon, we're going to sit down and have a real dinner together. I hate having to run out in the middle, it's just, y'now, there's this thing out there. Definitely non-vampire." How lame did that sound? Even to her ears it sounded lame.

Dawn merely smiled and nodded. "I understand."

Buffy looked at her sister and sighed sadly. Her sister was a good enough actress to think about a career in Hollywood – if it wasn't for the fact that she was **sure** that the majority of the A-List were all vampires or demons. She sighed softly and picked up her bag and headed to the door.

Dawn's smile dimmed just a fraction as she watched her leave. "Maybe when you get back, we can set up for your party tomorrow."

Buffy nodded to her. "Yeah, uh, this could take a while though – I-I wouldn't wait up." She set her bag down briefly to pull her coat on. Besides, Willow promised to take up Birthday Patrol, so there's probably nothing to worry about." She smiled at her sister, trying to be comforting but knowing she was failing.

Dawn's smile dimmed further. "It'll be fine, Dawn. Don't worry about me. Hey, this year is going to be better – I know it. I feel it in my bones, 'kay?" She smiled again.

Dawn nodded slowly. "Right."

Buffy nodded in return, itching to be out, doing what she did best – even though it wasn't what she really wanted to do best. "Okay, so, finish dinner, do your homework and don't stay up too late, okay? Feel free to call Xander if you want a bit of company. He said he'd be happy to come over."

With that, the Slayer turned and left, Dawn closed the door behind her. Dawn sighed and leaned against the door. "Sure, don't mind me. I'm just the bratty sister who gets in the way – no way could I go on Patrol with you and HELP!" She sighed and headed into the kitchen, lifted her plate and scraped the remains into the bin. She wasn't hungry any more. She went upstairs to do her homework.

**eieio**

Buffy entered the graveyard and sighed. "Time to get beaten up, I guess." She sighed again and waited. At least she didn't have to wait long – a large demon with red skin and a spiny crest on its head rushed at her, swinging a large sword. She managed to duck and block the next blow with her axe. "Y'know, I'm getting… such a strong… feeling of Déjà vu here – not your fault but, we've been here before. This won't last." She grunted as she tried to pull the axe out of the Demon's grasp only for him to bend and snap the handle. The Slayer watched helplessly as the rest fell to the ground. "Not a fan of axes, huh?"

As the Demon swung at her, she managed to grab his sword arm and twist it behind his back… only for the demon to disappear. "What..?"

She turned around quickly, in time to kick the reappearing demon in the face before punching and kicking him. He fell back and she watched his sword go flying this time. "See you're not the only one to…" She caught the sword effortlessly and used it to stab it in the gut as it charged.

Blue light emanating from the wound sent her flying back onto the ground, the sword landing point-down in the earth beside her. She shifted back a little, watching as the demon fell to his knees, still roaring.

Buffy sighed and stood up, walked over to the side. "Why is it always the pretty ones? I have sooo many outfits in my wardrobe that would go with this." She shook her head in regret then lifted the sword and broke it over her knee, watching as the blue light flashed once more before dissipating. She dropped the broken pieces to the ground and sat back down for a minute. "Fun. Well, at least that particular pain in the ass won't be coming to my birthday party uninvited, crawling in the walls, making people bleed." That thought made her smile.

**eieio**

The next day, Buffy was in the kitchen with Anya and Xander, discussing the party. Xander looked over at her with a smile. "Sooo who's coming? You invite anyone?"

Buffy shrugged. "You're all coming anyway and Spike said he'd be bringing Clem so I don't really need to bring anyone else. Saying that, I invited a girl from work – it's not a bad idea to try and make some new friends… I used to be really good at it once upon a time. A loooong time ago but still…" She shrugged. "I have to try, right?"

Xander nodded. "Right, right… on that subject, I invited someone that I think you'll like." He smiled a little at the look on his friend's face.

Anya piped up. "Yes. That is correct. Xander invited a guy. For you."

Buffy looked around the room frantically, hoping to find some support from any quarter – this was a bad idea. Of course none was forthcoming. Not even from Dawn who seemed thrilled at the idea of her sister going on a blind date.

Xander sighed. "It's not a set-up, Buffy. I mean, not really. Not unless you want it to be. I just invited."

Anya butted in again. "Nope, not a set-up – he's just an attractive single man, with whom we hope you find much in common and if you happen to form a romantic relationship leading to babies and many double dates with us so we have someone else to talk to, yay!" She ignored Xander facepalming.

Buffy couldn't help but look annoyed. Couldn't they understand that she had someone? Or at least, wasn't looking for anyone. "I'm going to assume that this was an act of kindness and that will help with the not-throttling." She sighed at the worried look that Xander threw her way.

"Look guys, I really appreciate your concern, I really do but it's unnecessary. I'm kinda… seeing someone. But it's early days, y'know?" She raised her hand to get them to stop asking questions. "I'll introduce him in time, when I'm more sure of us but right now, it's still so early and you know me with guys, right?" It was her turn to ignore a look thrown her way when Dawn gave her an appraising look.

As they started to ask questions she shook her head. "No, I really don't want to talk about him. Not yet. I'll let you all know in time but I'm hopeful. I think he could be pretty important to me."

They went about their respective duties until Tara appeared and Buffy, still so happy to see her after her being dead for so long, gave her a hug. "I'm so glad that you came."

Tara hugged her back happily enough before pulling back to look at her for a moment before releasing her. "Of course Sweetie. How are you doing? Is Spike coming?"

Buffy had to take a moment to remember what she was referring to then beamed at her. "I'm doing okay. I feel a lot better, more grounded now. He's coming but I've told him that I'll chuck him out unless he's on his best behaviour." She snorted softly.

Tara smiled. "You've been spending more time with him, I take it? You seem… happy."

Buffy grinned. "I am. Things are good right now." She shrugged. "Heaven seems like a long time ago. Besides, I'll get back there some day. Maybe." She laughed and Tara joined in for a moment until they turned to look at the sound of creaking stairs.

Willow stood there looking awkward, Buffy patted Tara's arm gently. "If I'm needed, I'll be in the kitchen." She wandered off, her mind trying to decide what to do with Dawn – she had after all, stolen. Wasn't it better than she paid for her crimes by taking everything back and working in the Magic Box? Or was it? She wasn't even sure any more.

Buffy sighed and moved to the kitchen table and started pouring drinks into the waiting cups. She looked up as Tara came in a few moments later. "Hey how did it-" She blinked as Tara interrupted her with just the words "Yes please" before taking the half filled glass from her hands and downing the drink in it. "O-kay." She smiled comfortingly. "I'm told it gets easier." She turned to look at the door as it was knocked. "That'll be Spike. Perfect timing as always." She rolled her eyes and went to open the door.

As she opened the door, she couldn't help but wince at the sight of him, still bruised from the run in they'd had near the Police Station. "Hello Spike." She looked past him. "Hello Clem." She stood back. "Come on in and join the party." She closed the door beside him. "Can you give me a minute please, I need to talk to Tara."

Before she could do that though, Xander entered the kitchen with the friend in tow. _(Great. What perfect timing.)_

She sighed as Xander quickly introduced his friend Richard but plastered on a bright smile anyway. "Hi Richard. Nice to meet you." She reached out to shake his hand, very aware that Spike was standing behind her, as she could feel him glare at her.

Xander grinned. "Richard was wondering where to park his car, Buffy. You'll show him, right?" It didn't appear her meddling friend was leaving her a choice. She rolled her eyes and nodded. "Sure. I can do that." She looked over at Spike. "Gimme a minute."

Spike shrugged and opened a beer, leaning back against the wall doing his best to look unbothered. "Sure, take your time love. Not going anywhere." He blinked a little in surprise as Buffy smiled a little in response before leading Richard away. He couldn't help but roll his eyes though as Buffy explained Clem's appearance as a Skin Condition when he asked though. "Stupid git." He reached forward and closed the door.

Tara frowned. "I don't know, he seemed… cute. W-was he cute? I mean, I'm not a very good judge but…" The quiet woman grinned as Spike growled. "He seemed cute." Her grin only grew as Clem added to the discussion. "I think he seemed cute, yeah." Spike eyed them both then stalked into the hall, away from them.

**eieio**

Finally managing to shake off Richard, Buffy stood in the hallway and looked at Spike. She waited for him to speak.


	19. Changes

Spike studied her for a moment, confused. His Slayer seemed different somehow and it was odd. "You wanna slip away for a minute, love?" He rolled his eyes as she gave him a bewildered look. "I'll let you blow out my candles."

Buffy shook her head and laughed a little. "Not here, no. There's a party going on, Spike. Mingling is good." She reached up and traced the bruise on his face gently. "Maybe later though."

The vampire snorted. "You're worried about Richard, huh? You know you don't do mortal men, Buffy – pun intended."

Buffy eyed him. "This isn't about Richard. Leave him alone – he's sweet, doesn't deserve you being mean about him. I'm not interested though so you can stop being jealous of him."

Spike eyed her. "I'm not jealous."

Buffy laughed, leaned in and kissed his lips but broke away before he could deepen the kiss. "Later. I need to ask you something too so yeah… later." She moved past him and away, heading back to the others, smiling as she brushed her fingers over her lips.

**eieio**

Buffy sat in the Living Room, everyone around her, watching as she opened her presents. She had them all opened apart from Dawn's and it sat on her knee at that moment. She stared at the white box, wary. She knew what was inside. The white box contained one of the most gorgeous jackets she'd ever seen but which was too expensive for her sister to afford on the allowance she could afford to give her. Her sister had stolen a jacket for her birthday present and that hurt her more than words could say. She sighed and set it aside. "Dawn, I think you and I need to talk. Right now!"

The blonde stood up and grabbed her sister's hand and dragged her out of the room, heading upstairs to Dawn's bedroom. This wasn't going to be an easy talk but it had to happen.

Dawn looked at her quizzically. "What's wrong Buffy?" She expressed more than a little alarm as Buffy reached for her jewellery box but before she could do anything, her older sister had tipped the contents onto the bed… including the stolen goods that she had taken but never dared to use. "This Dawn… this is what's wrong – you've been stealing. It has to stop."

Dawn blushed furiously, ashamed. She lowered her gaze so that she wouldn't have to see the disappointment in her sister's eyes. "How long have you known?"

Buffy shook her head. "I worked it out yesterday." She sighed and shook her head, sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her. "Dawn, I'm sorry I haven't been around much lately, that everything seems to be going mad at the minute but that's not an excuse for stealing from people." She gestured to the cache on the bed. "There's a lot of stuff from the Magic Box here. You will have to give it back… and the rest of it. That's going to be your punishment."

Dawn whimpered. "But… they'll hate me."

Buffy shook her head. "They won't hate you. What one amongst us hasn't done stupid stuff? They'll be angry yes but you're practically an adult now, Dawn. You have to realise that there are consequences." She managed a half-smile. "I like the jacket. If I had the money, I would have bought it so it's good to know that while you're getting all grown up right before my eyes, we still share the same taste."

Dawn looked at her. "You… don't seem very angry."

Buffy shrugged. "Hey, we all do daft things."

Dawn tilted her head to the side. "You mean like sleeping with Spike?"

Buffy's eyes widened. "You're sleeping with Spike?" She was alarmed for a moment. "Oh. Oh I see. You mean me. Well, sort of but… not quite I mean. Being with Spike is odd but it's not daft because… I think I could… love… him."

Dawn was about to say about how much she loved that idea when she heard them calling downstairs. "I guess they're growing impatient for the Birthday Girl to reappear, huh? You should go… I'll …. Sort this stuff out."

Buffy waved her hand. "Eh, leave it until tomorrow. No point ruining what's more or less being a good birthday, right? C'mon!" She tugged her sister out of the room, keen to see her absolute favourite Birthday present – The Weapon Chest that Xander had made especially for her. It was the one of the few things she'd actually packed up before the Big Fight. She hadn't expected to survive so had prepared a safe place for her sister to go to (of course Dawn had put a jinx on that by shocking Xander that time). Still, the chest was there, waiting for her, something to remember her by… something to remember her by that Xander would also take comfort in.

She grinned as it was wheeled to her, knelt down to examine it and was as enamoured as she had been the first time she had laid eyes on it. "It's beautiful. Absolutely perfect! Thank you so much Xander and thank you Anya." She gave them both a hug and smiled at them. "Fantastic. I can keep all my weapons here." She kept her voice low so that Richard wouldn't here.

She turned to look at the door as the bell went but didn't bother to move as Tara was on her way to answer it. She looked over to Dawn who was busy pushing the boxed jacket behind the sofa out of sight for then at least. She gave the younger woman a reassuring smile.

Movement at the doorway caught her eye. "Oh. Sophie!" She smiled in welcome. "Welcome! We're somewhere between presents and cake." She smiled enthusiastically at her friends. "There's going to be cake, right? I mean, other than Xander's chest, cake is the best part!" Anya could only nod in response as the new woman started talking.

Sophie wandered further into the living room. "My Mom said to say Thank you right away because I usually forget." Buffy just resisted the urge to cringe or look to see how her friends were taking this. "Also, um, I can't have any chocolate or peanuts or egg yolks… sometimes dairy." She shifted, looking uncomfortable as Anya leaned over to whisper in her usual subtle way to Buffy. "This is your friend from work?" Buffy could only nod. "That's not a problem. Apart from the cake, I guess."

Anya snorted. "Our friend is better." She beamed over at the male in question.

Buffy chose to ignore her, her gaze shifting instead to the door that had been left open. "Dawn can you please get the door." She would introduce Sophie to the rest of the gang even though she knew they would probably never see her again. At least not here, in this setting. That wasn't knowledge from the future, that was just something she'd known even back when it was the first time.

Dawn closed the door and moved back into the room, not noticing as the woman from earlier on in the day appeared. "Wish granted."

**eieio**

Buffy actually managed to relax as time passed. This party might actually go down as one of the few that was actually a success since the time that Buffy had become a Slayer – even Sophie had relaxed and was dancing with Clem of all people! She had been leaning against the door as she watched them all, a small smile on her face.

As Buffy went to take a drink, she realised her glass was empty so headed to the kitchen, smiling a little as she nearly bumped into Richard. "Oh hey."

Richard smiled back at her, still feeling a little awkward. "Great party. Everyone's having fun."

Buffy was pleased to hear it, couldn't help but smile at that. "I hope so. It would make a change, that's for sure." She rolled her eyes. "There's a history of Buffy birthdays sucking pretty majorly."

Richard contemplated asking her what she meant but figured that it might be a long story. He settled instead for smiling reassuringly. "It definitely is – I mean, look what time it is and no one's even thinking about leaving. I can't tear myself away. Hey do you want me to get you a drink?"

Buffy spotted Spike appearing in the doorway, was a little too distracted to focus on the other man. She focused her brain back. What had he been saying? Oh yes a drink. "Uh…. I'm good, thank you."

He nodded. "Alright. Well, I'll get a drink and be back – I'll look for you." He obviously missed the way that Spike rolled his eyes at his cheesy chat up routine.

Spike waited until the git was out of sight then sauntered over to **his** woman. "Ooh, Buffy… can I get you a soda pop? I think I'm in loooove."

Buffy could only roll her eyes and swat lightly at his arm. "Play nice Spike. He's a nice guy and he's a guest in my house. "Anyway, the only reason that he's still here is that no one can leave." She rolled her eyes. "Dawn made a wish in front of a Vengeance demon…" She shrugged, leaned in and kissed him again before heading back in. All Spike could do was stand there dumbly. "What… Vengeance demon..?" He shrugged it off and followed her back into the room.

Buffy looked at her friends, a little bewildered:

Anya: No, you go.

Xander: No, you go.

Anya: No, you go.

She looked over at Willow who had the misfortune to be sitting beside Xander as he and his girlfriend nuzzled and argued in that irritating manner that loved up couples did:

Xander: No, you go.

Anya: No, you go.

Willow was the one to snap first. "Alright!" She stood up quickly, hoping to get them to **stop**. They did finally, both turning to look at her but it was hard. She was trying to patch things up with Tara; they were all loved up and happy. It **hurt** "It's just a beer run. I'll go."

Sophie stood up. "I can't really drink beer, 'cause y'know the barley but I'll go with you to get some."

Willow smiled a tad desperately – she needed out of there. "Perfect! Here we go. The beer-gettin'." She didn't move. None of them did. Apart from Buffy! "Ah, here we go…" No one paid any attention. Xander and Anya went back to nuzzling.

Buffy shrugged, decided to let it go for the moment. She headed back to her seat to finish the game of monopoly she had been playing with Dawn, Richard and Anya. Actually it's peaceful. Very peaceful! Thinking about it, she wasn't really in a hurry to leave anyway. Not yet. Maybe if she could safe Halfrek, she could ask her to do this for her every year. She smiled at the thought.

**eieio**

A half hour later, she thought differently – at least about playing this silly game. She passed her money over to Anya. "I've always sucked at this game. Here, Anya. You have my money – you've got mostly all of it anyway." She smiled. "Money – even fake money – seems to be drawn to you, huh?" She got up and stretched and looked around then just wandered around talking randomly to everyone, her eyes hardly staying off Spike for long at all.

Some time later, she was getting a little restless. As she passed the table, Xander looked up. "Hey Buff – you wanna try poker with me, Clem, Spike and Tara?"

Clem looked up. "Yeah, come join us. It's a little weird without the kittens but it's okay."

Buffy shook her head. "No kittens, sorry Clem." She looked at Richard and shrugged. "Clem is a little quirky, right?"

Richard looked at her. "Look, we've already been playing for three hours, it's, you know, it's like two something in the morning. You can't bail now."

Anya grinned. "Yeah Buffy – join us and stay. I want to bankrupt as many people as possible today."

Dawn suddenly piped up with a bright idea. "Hey, we should totally have a slumber party!"

Buffy considered it for a moment. It was tempting, it really was but no. It was time to stop this. She sighed and sat down on the edge of Dawn's chair. "Anya, can you call Halfrek here, please."

Anya and Xander turned to look at her. "What? Why would you want to do that?"

Buffy shrugged. "Well, y'see, today she managed to get Dawnie to make a wish – we're stuck here. All of us! None of can leave until she breaks the spell. So if you call her, we can go home."

Xander laughed a little. "That's silly." He got up and headed (reluctantly) to the door, prepared to prove that she was wrong. He opened the door; sure… he didn't step out. "Darn it. Buffy's right." He looked over at his fiancée. "Can you get her to reverse the spell?"

Anya sighed. "I can try." She called her friend whilst Dawn looked around guiltily. "I'm sorry. I never thought."

Buffy laughed and shook her head. "Mistakes happen, Dawn. It'll be fine." She shrugged and looked at Halfrek as she appeared in front of them. "Hi Halfrek. Remove the spell you cast on us on behalf of Dawn."

Halfrek snorted. "Now why would I do that?"

Buffy looked at her and shrugged. "Well, I could threaten violence but that won't work since you can't be killed, can you." She shrugged again. "So I guess, bearing that in mind, you should go now."

That suggestion met with some disagreement from the rest of the room. Halfrek merely smirked and chose to ignore them as she made her usual grand exit… or tried to. She looked around at the room, puzzled that she was still there. She tried again… "What..?"

Buffy grinned. "You're stuck here. Just like the rest of us."

Halfrek sagged a little. "Oh. Darn."

Anya stood in front of her friend and glared. "How could you? Some of them are in the Wedding Party. How could you curse us like this, Halfrek?"

Halfrek rolled her eyes. "Relax. I told you I was going to take care of some business while I was here in town." She looked around, her gaze stopping on Spike. "…William?"

Spike's eyes widened but he didn't say anything.

Buffy could have said something but she already knew that they wouldn't answer her question so why bother?

Tara got the attention away from the odd pair by asking a question. "Don't vengeance demons just punish men who wrong women?"

Halfrek rolled her eyes. "No dear – that's Anyanka's gig. I and the rest of us are more well-rounded. We prefer Justice Demons FYI.

Anya snorted. "Right. Well-rounded. The whole bad parent thing is totally that."

She scowled at the only other being she'd ever considered to be a friend. "Okay. All right! Sling all the barbs at me that you want, Anyanka, it doesn't change the fact that this girl was in pain," she pointed over to Dawn, "and none of you could hear it. I could hear her crying out everywhere I went in this town. It was unbearable and none of you knew!"

Buffy sighed. "You're right. We all got far too busy and we neglected Dawn but we're all going to change that. Well, probably not Sophie and Richard but certainly the rest of us." She shrugged. "It's no longer your problem so let us go, release the spell and you can go about your way.

Halfrek sighed. "Oh… fine! The curse is lifted. We can all leave now, damn it." With a snap of her fingers, she disappeared.

Buffy looked around, it seemed that in a moment, their tiredness caught up with them. Richard was the first to leave. Clem was the next with Sophie. Buffy could only shake her head and smile at the oddness of the pair together. She closed the door behind Xander and Anya as they followed and turned her attention to Spike. "Give me twenty minutes, okay? I'll see you out on the back porch."

Spike nodded and turned to go and wait for her, unsure as to what to expect with this rather strange Slayer he was witnessing that night.

Buffy headed upstairs to Dawn's room – she had cleared off as soon as everyone else went to give Tara and Willow a chance to talk if they wanted. The Slayer sighed and sat down on Dawn's bed and looked at her sister. "I meant what I said – we'll spend more time together. Well, as much as I can possibly give you anyway in between working at the DoubleMeat Palace and my usual Slaying duties."

Dawn nodded. "I know. I get it." She sighed. "It wasn't just you though – it was everyone. It feels like I'm losing everyone."

Buffy shook her head and leaned in to hug her sister. "You're not. I know it seems that way but you're not. Don't worry about Willow and Tara – they'll get back together. They'll be okay. I promise."

Strangely Dawn felt comforted even though there was no way that Buffy could really know that. "Right. I just have to have faith, right? They're stronger than that." She hugged her sister. "I'm **really** sorry about the Wish – and the Jacket. And the stealing."

Buffy hugged her back. "It's fine. No one was hurt, it was nice to hang out with everyone."

About ten minutes later, she headed downstairs and out the back door to sit with Spike and talk… really talk.

**eieio**

A/N: Don't worry, I don't actually plan to run over every episodes, making changes. Just the key points. Also, this story is going to be a lot bigger than I first imagined. Scary.


	20. Ask for the Moon

Buffy walked onto the back porch and smiled as she saw Spike sitting there waiting for her. Though his gaze was on the world around him, her smile grew as he turned to look at her. The warmth of the smile seemed to throw him a little though as a wary and slightly bewildered look crossed his features. The smile on her face faded and she sighed softly as she moved to sit down beside him, a bundle in her hands

Spike looked at the pile of magical charms in her hands and raised a brow. "Interesting mix you've got there, love.".

Buffy looked down at the bundle and sighed. "Yeah. They're from the Magic Shop... Apparently Dawn has been feeling more than a little neglected - so she's been shoplifting." Her gaze locked on him once more.

"This would actually be one of the first favours I have to ask you - is there any way you could return these without Anya knowing where they came from?" She shook her head. "I'm not planning to allow Dawn to get away with it or anything but, her haul is BIG... It'd be nice if there was one shop in Sunnydale that didn't block her from entering." She grimaced a little, remembering her own attempt at stealing something - way back in the day, with Faith. Hadn't that gone well with the Police and everything.

She sagged a little with relief as he took the stolen trinkets from her with a 'yeah sure.' She smiled over at him. "Thank you. It would be especially nice if Anya wasn't out for Dawn's blood for stealing stuff." She frowned. "Then again, it mightn't be a bad idea to ask Anya about the possibility of Dawn working there… maybe on weekends or something – or for a few hours after school. Something."

Buffy smiled a little awkwardly as he gave her a look. "Right. Rambling. Sorry." She sighed and shifted, realised just how uncomfortable the back steps were for sitting down for any length of time. "Okay, that brings us to the second favour I need to ask of you… and it's a biggie."

She shifted again so that she was sitting facing him so she could look into those gorgeous eyes of us. "Alright. I'm gonna level with you here Spike. Please don't feel under pressure. I don't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable…"

The young woman winced slightly as she remembered that night when he had been so agitated, so **desperate** that she had actually really been terrified of him, afraid that he really was going to hurt her in a way that she could never recover from. Even now it was hard to walk into the bathroom without remembering…

The blonde woman shoved that painful memory aside. That was in a past that hadn't even happened yet – it didn't **need** to happen. She wanted to be with this man before her, more than anything. This could be something even better than what she'd had with Angel. Miles better!

Spike just watched her silently as he slid the trinkets carefully into the pocket of his jacket. "What is it, love?" He couldn't help but reach out and tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

He watched her facial expression as she smiled… apologetically then sighed softly before nodding slightly to herself, a decision made somehow.

"Okay, you're probably not going to want to hear this but it's something that I think that really needs to happen, okay?" Spike waited. "All right, thing is this - I need you to get a soul!"

She held up a hand to stop him interrupting. She really needed to get this said before she had a chance to chicken out. "I'm not trying to turn you into Angel, I don't want you moping around forever the way he does." She smiled wryly. "I will always love him in some way but let's face it – he is depressing." That at least got a smile from Spike.

Buffy reached out and took his hand. "I think… no, I **know** that I could love you, Spike." She broke eye contact for a moment to look down at their entwined hands before looking at him again. "I also know that with a soul, you would still be you. You're not going to be radically different either. I'm not going to say that it would be an easy choice for you – I'm sure that at least initially, when you get the soul, it would be a hard adjustment but I believe in you, Spike. I believe you're strong enough to come through it and be you again." She shrugged. "Strong enough to push all the guilt down rather than nearly allowing it to destroy you." She left 'like Angel' unsaid. Spike resisted the urge to finish her sentence too which surprised him.

The woman sighed and traced the fingers over the hand that she had captured. "I want to be with you, Spike but I want **all** of you. Soul and all." She released his hand and stood up, her gaze still focused on him. "It's your choice though. I don't want you to feel that you **have** to do this because I know that what you'll have to go through to get your soul back will be tough and you might not survive if your heart isn't in it."

Spike tried speaking again, this time she didn't stop him. "You think that'll work? What if the first time we have sex after, I lose my soul?"

Buffy smiled a little at the notion and sat back down again. "You're not Angel, Spike. I told you – I believe in you. You're a good man. I'm already half in love with your heart. I just want the chance to love your soul too." She shrugged. "What I'm talking about is different to Angel's resouling – this wouldn't be a curse like what was laid on him, it's a reward for defeating some **hard **tasks…"

**eieio**

Spike practically stumbled all the way back to his home when he finally left Buffy. He needed to leave then to avoid bursting into flames in the morning sun but his head was too full of everything to think straight never mind walk straight.

He sighed and sat down on the chair in front of the TV and turned on the stupid box. He didn't hear a word of it. Part of him couldn't help going over everything in his mind… did he want to do this?

Of course not! What if he became as mopey and depressing like a certain other vampire that he wouldn't even deign to mention because saying his name only soured the atmosphere but then again, he was stronger than him, wasn't he? Just because **that** idiot decided to mope and do nothing, didn't mean he had to go the same way…

It wasn't the tasks that Buffy had told him about that freaked him out either – or the time away from her – though that definitely didn't help. What if another Captain Cardboard made himself comfortable in her heart while he was away getting a soul? He shuddered at the thought of Riley. Dull, dull man! Nowhere near good enough for **his** Slayer!

He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. Buffy **claimed** that she didn't want him to do this so that he would be different or because she was trying to make him into another Poof. She said she could love him, that she wanted to love him… all of him. Wasn't that worth fighting for?

He loved that silly blonde with everything he had. Everything. Far more than he had ever loved Cecily or even Drusilla. For the chance of her loving him back, he was willing to give it a try, at least.

He sighed as he realised that he was indeed willing to do what she asked of him. He was still as much of a fool for love as he had ever been. There was just one thing that worried him:

…what if she didn't like his poetry..?

**eieio**

A week later, Anya found the items whilst doing the usual stock taking. "Hmm. Weird. Wonder how I missed all those?" She shrugged it off. "Perhaps Buffy is right – I need to hire Dawn to help out. I'm clearly overworked. If she breaks anything though…"

**eieio**

Spike looked at Buffy, his beloved. She stood looking back at him, clearly very tense. He was half tempted to walk over to the freezer compartment and get some ice. She liked that after all, just on the back of her neck… He shook his head, clearing it of unnecessary thoughts at that moment. He needed to focus.

"Alright love, I've given it some thought. I'll do it." He smiled wryly. "I hope while I'm gone, you're not going to move in another lover... boyfriend, whatever!"

Buffy snorted, clearly relaxing now she knew what he would do. "No chance."

Spike relaxed then too. The look that Buffy was giving him proved that the woman meant what she said. "I have something to ask of you though, before I go."

"Name it." Her eyes widened as he told her: "One kiss." That she could easily give him, and more besides… Something to remember her by, after all given what he would be going through to get a Soul for her.


	21. Riley Cold Feet

Spike was gone and she was bored. Also, missing him quite badly – not just their more intimate time together but their chats and everything about him really. She frowned as she tried to remember what it was that was coming – something other than a Wedding that wouldn't be… what was it?

Oh yes… Riley!

Riley… she grinned as she remembered then. At least she had something to do now. The Slayer headed to her weapons chest and found one of the few things that she still had from her time with the Initiative – a stun gun that happened to be just strong enough to take down a herd of elephants. That would do the trick. She whistled a contented tune as she left the building, intent on finding a demon.

**eieio**

The day had not been good so far – she had slept in, missed taking the garbage out, had been rejected by UC Sunnydale as she'd applied too late to rejoin. Oh yeah, there had also been the vampire that had tried to run away from her – not because he was scared of her exactly, but because the smell of Double Meat Palace that surrounded her was too much of a stench for him. Therefore, could anyone blame her if she had dolled herself up more than usual to go to work, knowing that her ex-boyfriend would be showing up? She couldn't do much about the smell of the place lingering on her but at least she looked good!

Knowing that she looked at least as hot as she ever did meant that she was able to smile brightly at Riley when he came in – well, that and the fact that she was in love - even if just a little bit worried about Spike. He would be fine of course. He had to be. There was no need to be worried about him. Still, she did.

When Riley came to the Double Meat Palace, he was a little bewildered that Buffy didn't seem surprised to see him. In fact, she just finished talking to her co-worker, set her apron and hat aside then walked out from behind the counter, smiling at him. "Hello Riley." She continued smiling as she hugged him in a friendly manner. "You're looking good." She released him and stepped back.

For a few moments, Riley's jaw just opened and closed, no sound coming out which seemed to amuse his former girlfriend no end. She pulled him gently out of the fast food establishment.

"Had I realised that they would send you, I would have rung earlier. I take it your wife is here with you somewhere?" Just in case he got the wrong idea and thought she was pining for him. "Sam, right? Willow told me a while back…"

Riley stopped walking, forcing Buffy to do the same and just looked at her. "Buffy, how did you…? You're looking great. Just the same as ever." You called about a demon?"

Buffy nodded. "Uh huh." Okay, a little white lie but no point getting him all suspicious now, was there. "A Suvolte demon – haven't come across one of those before but I know that they're deadly, laying waste to towns and laying eggs… Oh yeah, I took care of some I found too – courtesy of a now dead demon calling himself The Doctor." She shrugged – another little white lie about Spike wasn't going to hurt anyone – the eggs were gone after all, and that was the main thing. Of course, she would have to tell Spike when he got back that it was her that had blown up the 'basement' of his Crypt.

She stopped in front of the warehouse where she had stashed the demon. "In here… I'll go first – just in case." Sure enough, she saw the creature as she stepped inside, lying just as she had left it. "Hopefully this saves you some hassle. Also, wouldn't want this thing terrorising the lovely residents of Sunnydale now, would we?" She beamed at him and again, Riley was taken aback by how confident and happy... and **peaceful** Buffy looked.

He shook his head in wonder but didn't get a chance to say anything as Buffy spoke again. "I want you to know, for old time's sake, that I **did** show up to stop you leaving that time… it was too late though – you were already in the chopper and couldn't hear my shouts." She frowned as she remembered how much that moment had hurt her at the time – it seemed like years ago now. She shook it off though and beamed at him. "Still, it all worked out for the best, right? You have Sam now." She gestured to the woman who had just come into the warehouse.

"Hello Sam. Riley has been telling me all about you. It's nice to meet you, the woman who made him so happy. Have your demon here waiting for you." She reached down and checked its bonds. "Still secure, still out for the count – you've got time to come back to the house and see everyone before you have to leave again, right?" She smiled at them both as she shook hands with the other woman. Of course they followed, Riley still looking more than a little floored. That was actually an enjoyable experience for the Slayer.

Buffy laughed at Willow and shook her head at the redhead's offer to hate the other woman on her behalf. "Absolutely no need, Will – Sam is lovely, really. She could have easily been a part of our gang. She's a doctor… woulda been really useful for patching up all our scrapes and broken bones – ooh, and we coulda called her rather than Ben that time we were on the run and Giles was bleeding to death and then Glory wouldn't have been able to snatch Dawn. That woulda been nice." She shrugged and took her friend's arm, guiding her back to the others. "They're only here a while, we should get to know her."

Willow didn't really see any reason to argue with her. "This new guy of yours is really good for you, Buffy." Buffy's only response was to grin more broadly.

When it was time for the duo to leave with their still out for the count demon, Buffy pulled Riley aside for a moment. She pulled him into a quick hug." Take care of yourself Riley – and Sam. I hope you have many happy years together. Again, for what it's worth, I'm really sorry for how things panned out between us – the fighting and whatnot."

Riley nodded, a lot more grounded now, having had time to process everything. "It's fine, Buffy. Things happen for a reason – I believe that now."

Buffy nodded. "Good point… um, can I ring the same number if I need a favour – Spike's chip may well stop functioning at some point."

Riley's face darkened at the mention of one of his least favourite creatures but he nodded. "Sure. That'll work. They'll do what they can." He frowned. "Speaking of, where is the bloodsucker?"

Buffy levelled her gaze on him. "He's off getting a Soul for me." She grinned and turned, walking back to her friends. All Riley could do was snort and walk back to his waiting wife. "Figures."

**eieio**

On the Eve of Xander and Anya's wedding Buffy sat in her room, trying to think of what she **should** be doing right now but her mind wouldn't stay fixed on the task at hand. She needed to go out and slay some vampires or something – anything that would take away the focus from the horror she knew was to come. Unfortunately, she was stuck with the knowledge that they had invited Anya and the rest of the (female) gang over for a Hen Night. They weren't planning much though – a few drinks, a few films, facemasks, manicures… just the usual stuff that women did on a girly night in. If she could just relax, everything would be great.

Well, everything would be great if only her friend wasn't about to make the biggest mistake of his life! She groaned and flopped down on her bed, grabbed a pillow and covered her face to muffle the frustrated scream that escaped her.

**eieio**

Buffy was sitting on her bed, feeling sorry for herself when her mother walked into the room, wearing a lovely white flowing robe. "Ah. I'm dreaming. Hi Mom. It's been a while… can I hug you?"

Joyce beamed at her and opened her arms. "Of course you-" She didn't get to finish the sentence before her daughter was in her arms. "Oh Buffy, I miss you and Dawn but I am always watching over you."

Buffy pulled back a little and looked at her. "We miss you too, Mom. Things just aren't the same without you." She wrinkled her nose. "What a total cliché… and nowhere near enough."

Joyce laughed. "Buffy, I know what's in your heart, don't worry."

Buffy relaxed and hugged her once more before allowing herself to focus on the problem at hand. She looked at her Mother again. "As lovely as this is, I seriously doubt that you're here for a cuddle… what gives?"

Joyce smiled. "I know about the Mirror, Buffy. I am here to tell you that you must do what you feel is right – follow your heart."

Buffy frowned. "You mean about Anya and Xander?"

Her mother brushed her hair out of her daughter's face. "Yes - and the scythe. It's not time yet – it's safe where it was. Put it back for now. Or it will be taken. Follow your heart, Buffy. You can't go-"

Buffy was woken by a bang from downstairs – it took her a second to realise that it was the sound of the front door being closed a bit too enthusiastically by Dawn as she came in with shopping for tonight. "Follow my heart..? In everything? Or just this?" She sighed and sat up and looked around her room. "Follow my heart…"

**eieio**

Dawn blinked as a moment later she heard Buffy come thundering down the stairs only to head out, the front door slamming behind her. "Figures. Always left to prepare everything myself." She pouted about it for a moment then shrugged and got on with it.

**eieio**

The blonde headed next to Anya's. She talked as idly as Anya ever allowed then somehow managed to wheedle a copy of the vows that the ex-demon had written what seemed like years ago, to the Slayer. "Oh, you know… Willow wanted to get a copy of yours and Xander's framed so that you could have them forever, you know?"

Anya felt like crying – that was so lovely. "Aww, that's such a nice thing for her to do. Even better than just merely giving us money! Which is all greatly appreciated by the way, no matter how little. Money is always a good gift to give a couple – especially when they already live together." She looked hopefully at the Slayer. "So much better than getting a gift that you can't stand but that you have to display for years to come so that your friend won't be offended."

Buffy just about managed to hold back the laugh at Anya being so very **Anya**. She didn't however manage to hold back a sniffle as she pulled the other woman into a hug. "Oh, I just know that you and Xander are going to be together for years to come! Tomorrow is going to be such a great, great day!"

**eieio**

Buffy's last stop in this matter was of course to see Xander. Not that hard given that they'd told her earlier where they were going so that she could ensure that she didn't miss it on patrol – just in case, knowing their luck, something went wrong demon-wise.

Buffy stood at their table and looked at her best friend. "Xander can I talk to you for a moment? Outside?"

Xander looked at her. "Sure thing, Buff…" He followed his friend out and just managed to hold back a shriek as no sooner where they outside that she thrust something into his face. "Read this. You **really** need to read this."

Xander let his heart rate calm a little then took the page or two from her before giving her a questioning look. The blonde just pointed to the page so he made his brain focus through the alcohol in his system. He swallowed hard, close to tears by the time he finished. "I'm marrying one helluva woman."

Buffy grinned at him. "Yes, you are Xander. You are one very lucky man and I want you to remember that." She frowned. "Also, you need to put aside your Wedding Jitters. I know you, Xander. There's not a malicious bone in your body. Well, apart from when it comes to Angel maybe but that's fair enough. Aside from that, you're a good man – one of the best I know and you would **never** hurt Anya. You would **never** end up like your father. You have to realise that."

Xander stared at her. "How did you…" Buffy shrugged. "You're my best friend, remember? Some things, you just know. This is one of those moments. I want to see you and Anya together, Xander. After everything you two have been over the years, you deserve this. You **belong** together."

**eieio**

The Wedding went without a hitch – not least because she ensured that the demon never got within a mile of Xander. Actually, that was quite therapeutic – a little beating him senseless then sending him back through the portal he came to Sunnydale by (with a little help from Tara).

She smiled at her friend. "See, that'll make everything better, you wait and see."

Tara could only nod slowly at her friend. Buffy had been acting strangely for a while now but at the same time, she was used to people acting strangely so she let it go. "Time to go to a Wedding… these dresses are hideous."

Buffy looked down and laughed. "Very. At least in my case, Spike isn't here to see it – and in yours, Willow looks just as bad." She grinned and led her friend off.


	22. William Returned

Within taking a few steps away from the cave, guilt, for what he had done to his past victims, started to assail Spike. Had it been a trickle he could have ignored it but this was a deluge and it made the vampire's knees buckle – he didn't noticed as he fell on ground that consisted of rough rock, scraping knees through leather torn during his many trials.

Bloody Slayer… Buffy. What had she got him into this time? He was too lost in torment right then to register anything – not his surroundings or if he was in danger, most definitely not the pain that still existed in his body. All he could do was give himself over to the misery his newly acquired soul was inflicting on him.

**eieio**

An hour or two later, the newly-souled vampire came to enough to feel the prickling warning that meant the sun was soon to rise – he forced himself to stand, pushing all the guilt aside. He needed shelter first. He headed over to his bike. Once he was safe, he could figure out how to deal with this new and complicated mess he found himself in. "Not gonna mope around like that bloody poofter. How embarrassing would that be?" He took his seat on the bike, started it and sped off.

**eieio**

Back in Sunnydale, Buffy was worried. Where was Spike? Was he okay? What happened if this time, he hadn't been motivated enough? What if he had actually got himself killed? What if **she **had gotten him killed? She whimpered and dug into her drawer and found the cell phone she rarely bothered with, found his number and dialled it. Of course he didn't answer. She left him a message though, telling him to call her as soon as he got her message. She hoped that he didn't keep her waiting too long.

**eieio**

The sun had set; Spike was awake after managing a whole blissful two hours of peace from the guilt that he carried with him now. He just had to keep telling himself that it was worth it. For the chance to be with Buffy, it was worth it.

It was worth it…

Her phone call/message therefore, was a timely intervention. He smiled as she realised just how worried she sounded for him. His instant reaction was to call her and put her mind at ease but he didn't quite feel up to it in that moment – he rattled off a text message, assuring the woman that he was fine, that he had gotten through all right but needed a little time to get his head around everything and then he would be home. He switched the phone off and flopped down on the bed, closing his eyes. He wasn't going anywhere until he had all the voices under some sort of control… and the urge to write poetry about Buffy and how much in love with her he was. "Stupid bloody William!"

**eieio**

Dawn was waiting impatiently in the front room for Buffy to show up. Where was she? She eyed her watch as though it were to blame for her sister's tardiness. "Stupid Buffy. Always late when you want her here." She pouted then sighed, reached for the remote control for the television and turned the box on. After ascertaining that there was nothing of interest however, she switched it off again.

Buffy finally showed up after another half hour, looking annoyed about something or other. She didn't get time to reach for the door to open it before it was opened for her, the sight of a slightly excited looking Dawn greeting her. "Hi Dawn. If you want to go somewhere, the answer is no – other than being at School or at the Magic Box, you're here. Grounded, remember?"

Dawn couldn't help but roll her eyes. Some things just never changed. "Right. Of **course **that's my priority right now." The sarcasm practically dripped from her voice as she reached for her sister's arm and dragged her into the kitchen where her laptop sat.

"I've been soo busy lately what with school and the Magic Box so you've only yourself to blame that this took so long."

Buffy stared blankly at her. "Dawn, what are you talking about please? My head is pounding, I stink of the Double Meat Palace and all I want to do is crawl into the shower…"

Dawn sighed. "Buffy, please shut up and let me tell you my story. For once, okay?"

Buffy shut up. Thankfully. Dawn just watched as her sister gave her **that** look and sat down. "I'm all ears."

Dawn grinned at her. "Okay, so I've been spending what little free time I have looking up this medallion thing of yours with very little luck. I checked all of our books – yours, whatever." She shrugged at the look her sister gave her. "I checked everything at the Magic Box during my breaks… I even checked out the books that Willow scanned into the computer that time for Jenny before that idea was knocked on the head thanks to Malcolm. Or rather Moloch."

Buffy smiled wryly. "I get it you have worked very hard on this and I'm grateful-"

Dawn gave her one of her own looks then. "I asked you to shut up please. Remember?" She stuck her tongue out, smiled and continued. "Anyway I tried all our usual online resources and I found nothing. I typed every darned thing I could think of into Google and nothing… but then, your dear smart sister – who yes, is very smart and **dear** to you and really, **really** wants to go out this weekend please and thank you very much – thought of something ingenious."

The younger woman grinned and reached for her laptop, waking it from its sleep. "I found this cool website that allows you to put in a picture of something and it will actually scour the net on your behalf, searching for similar objects."

Dawn passed the laptop around so that Buffy could see the photo she brought up. "Is this the thing you're looking for?"

Buffy shifted closer to get a better look and her heart nearly exploded with excitement in that moment. It was something. Something that could be useful! "It is. You are indeed a genius! Where did you find it and please tell me everything you can about it!"

Dawn grinned and turned the laptop around. "Oh, this is fabulous – couldn't find it anywhere, right?" She pressed another button and brought up a standard looking (if slightly nerdy) blog.

"Turns out that this thing was created by the Science Division of Wolfram and Hart. How do I know this? Well, the guy who owns this blog is called Knox and he works there, apparently it was his job to create this thing and he did such an 'amazing and awesome job' - his words by the way – that he just had to let a few people know so that his 'genius' could be admired by everyone."

Dawn snorted and rolled her eyes. "Anyway – this thing is rather interesting. I'm guessing it's something to be used against Angel because, well, they're always trying to make his life a misery, aren't they?" She shrugged and looked at her sister who just nodded before gesturing for her to continue.

"Okay… apparently this thing is a bit like a genie. I do stress **a bit** here Buffy. It gives a souled vampire the power to do the one thing that they really, really need to do in that moment then traps them into the necklace, which in turn makes them the property of Wolfram and Hart." She shrugged. "That's it, in a nutshell."

Buffy frowned. "So if, for example, Angel were to wish for something – say that he hadn't killed Jenny when he went evil for example – she would suddenly be alive but Angel would be trapped in that necklace?"

Dawn scowled at the notion that Buffy could still want that brooding moron when she had Spike but nodded.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Don't give me that look – I don't want him to want that. Not any more. I'm more than happy with Spike. I just… don't exactly know what Angel **would **want any more, do I?" She shook her head and got back to the topic in question. "Well, for what purpose?"

Dawn frowned in turn then looked back at her laptop. "Hold on, there's something in here about it – souled vampire… trapped… yada yada yada… oh yes, here we go… Right. Apparently the idea is that the vampire will then be tethered to the building, unable to leave unless someone else from the building is with them." She shook her head. "They don't even want to stop him doing what he's doing, I think – they just want to be able to make sure that they can keep an eye on him."

**eieio**

Buffy's mind was reeling. She needed to get out on her own and think this all through but there was Dawn to consider. She frowned and looked at her. "Thank you for finding this information for me. I really appreciate it."

Dawn smiled. "This is the bit where you tell me to go on to bed because now you need to phone Angel and warn him, right? To tell him all about this?"

Buffy looked at her sister for a moment, glad that she now had a cast-iron reason for some time to herself that wouldn't kill her little sister. "Yeah, I should probably do that." Dawn nodded, gave her sister a hug and left. "Bedtime calls!"

Buffy sat back down when the younger woman left. She wasn't overly fond of handing Angel over to the group that were making his life a misery but then again, she wasn't exactly thrilled at the idea of handing Spike over to them. At least Angel was already **in** L.A. and dealing with that bunch of uglies on a regular basis. She needed Spike with her or else what was the point of all this? She sighed and closed her eyes. Her heart told her what her to do. She would follow it.


	23. Normal Again

A/N: Boy, has this chapter been a pain to write! I did two drafts following similar lines of the original but wasn't happy with either of them… then I had a brainwave. Even then, I had to change the ending but this one I'm happy with. Finally.

**eieio**

Dawn passed a piece of paper to Buffy and the Slayer stared down at it and she felt her heart sink and her feeling of dread rise: It was a list of recently rented houses in Sunnydale, printed out in the hopes of finding Andrew, Warren and the other one.

Of course the Slayer knew already where the idiotic trio were hanging out (at this stage, anyway) so didn't actually need the pages. Just to be sure, she scanned through the list until she found the aforementioned residence. Yup, there it was. She let out a heavy sigh.

Dawn misinterpreted the weary noise her sister made. "Yeah, I know it looks a lot but you should have seen the length of it **before** I cross-checked these with other information from different sources," she frowned "it seems like a lot of old, married couples are settling down here... Do you think in some part of their brain, they're trained to come here to die?"

Buffy raised her brow at the question. "Define old."

Dawn shrugged. "Oh, you know - like, Giles' age." Before Buffy could respond to that, Dawn laughed. "I'm kidding. I mean properly old - people in their eighties."

Buffy blinked. "That **is **weird." She shrugged after giving it a moment of thought. "Probably best never to have that conversation with either Spike or Angel though - it'd just give Angel another reason to brood. I mean, if eighty is old, what does that make him at over two hundred and fifty years of age?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Please Buffy - I'm not a stupid child. I've grown up since that time I accidentally invited Harmony into the house you know."

Buffy nodded slowly. "I know you have. Besides it's not like there's one of us that hasn't done something equally stupid." Dawn's eyes lit up and Buffy almost wished she hadn't uttered that sentence.

"I'm so glad that you think that, Buffy. Bearing that in mind, do you want me to look through some of the houses on the list? I promise that I will be ultra-discreet and if I do happen to find their house, rather than doing anything rash, I will just let you know so that you can sort them out."

Buffy snorted. "Nice try, Dawn but I already know what house they're staying at." She held up the pages in her hand. "This one right here." Buffy felt bad, however noting that her sister visibly sagged at her words.

"Not for the first time, I can't help feeling that it's really unfair that I ended up a Slayer and you didn't. I mean you were made from my blood, right? Shouldn't that make you a Slayer automatically? Also you actually **like** this stuff!". She shrugged and grabbed her jacket from the hall then came back into the room. Buffy looked at her sister. "Have you your homework done?"

Dawn looked almost affronted. "Of course I have! What do you take me for anyway? You?" She grinned at her sister and got a tongue stuck out at her as a reward.

"Okay, you can come **with** me. Get your jacket." She shook her head in wonder as Dawn stood and did a quick happy dance before doing as she was told. "Alright mini-Giles, let's keep this simple." She handed Dawn the axe she had set by the door earlier. "Hopefully tonight will be quiet but if not, let me do the fighting while you stand there looking tough with the axe, got it?"

The younger woman nodded. "Got it." She was still a little bouncy with excitement. Buffy sighed. "See? Natural Slayer - you look forward to this stuff in the same way that Faith does," she eyed her sister. "If you start to turn out like her, I will have to hurt you. You know that, right?"

She laughed and ushered her sister out the door. "Relax, Buffy - I'm more likely to turn into Giles than Faith, believe me."

Buffy relaxed and started walking. "Good to know." She stopped dead suddenly though, a moment later as a thought occurred to her. "Just don't do the smoking thing or get a friend like Ethan Rayne or call up any Gods. One hellish God was enough for a lifetime."

Dawn sighed as Buffy started walking again only to stop dead once more. "... And definitely no trying to summon demons... Oh wait, you tried that already."

Dawn once more stumbled into her sister, her face falling as Buffy's word registered. "That's not fair, Buffy. I was young then and I'd just lost Mom. I missed her - I still do."

Buffy turned around and hugged her. "I know, sorry. Bad joke. I miss her still too." She stroked Dawn's hair out of face then released her. "Besides, it not like you did something really bad like invite a vampire into the house or anything."

She ducked just in time to avoid being swatted on the back of the head by the taller woman, laughed and shook her head. "Oh come on - you definitely deserved that one."

Dawn sighed. "It was one time, at the height of an argument and I managed to invite Harmony and her minions in... Will you ever let me forget it?"

Buffy grinned and took her sister's arm to get her walking again. "Nope."

Dawn couldn't help but pout a little. "At least I didn't date not one but **two** vampires!"

Buffy snorted and muttered under her breath. "Yet."

Dawn frowned and looked at her. "What?"

Buffy smiled brightly at her. "Nothing... Oh look, we're here. Well, on the right street anyway." She frowned and looked around. "So quiet... Now, remember what I said, okay? Anything happens..."

"Stand there and look fierce and leave the fighting to you. Got it."

Buffy grinned at her. "Good gi- woman." She took a deep breath, checked and looked at her watch. She was earlier than last time. Maybe the idiot Andrew wouldn't have his summoning spell ready.

Then again, maybe it would be okay this time – Now that she knew what was about to come, that Andrew had prepared something to confuse her and make her believe that this world was nothing but a crazy hallucination, she had things to get off her chest. It would be nice to point out that her mother was missed badly, that her useless father wasn't - that honestly, a life with him was not something she dreamt of any more. Furthermore, if this were actually real life then where was her sister Dawn? She should definitely be there somewhere even if she was only a toddler.

She was so busy planning all her arguments in her head that she hardly registered that she had walked right up to the front door of the trio's house. She definitely didn't register Dawn voicing her misgivings. At least not until they became a warning. "Buffy, look OUT!"

The Slayer had only time to grunt as something barreled into her from behind. Demon. Of course. She cursed under her breath as she stood up from where it had knocked her to the ground. "Oh yay - a Glarg Gull Kashmir Nick demon. How wonderful."

Buffy threw herself into the fight, doing her best to keep away from anything that could pierce her whilst also doing her best to keep the demon away from Dawn.

In the second that she turned to look and check that her sister was safe, the demon took its chance and attacked her. The Slayer cried out - more in surprise and dismay - as she felt something needle-like sink into her skin.

Buffy didn't feel any pain as she dropped to her knees on the rough gravel pathway, nor did she hear the demon run off or her sister rushing to her, worried.

**eieio**

Buffy jumped a little as she felt warm arms wrapped around her from behind. It had not been what she had been expecting at all but as she stood in a sun-dappled meadow, the wind blowing her long sundress around her legs, it was not an unwelcome contact. In fact, it felt familiar. The woman turned to look, her eyes widening as she took in the sight of a brown haired supposed vampire, holding her close as they stood in the sunlight. "Spike..?"

The man laughed. "Time to come back to Earth, Buffy." He shook his head and smiled, leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips. "William. I'm William - not the vampire you've oh, so kindly based around me in your story."

Buffy blinked, tried to get her bearings. "Story?"

Spike sighed and shook his head as he looked at her, eyes brimming with patience and love. "They told me that it would be hard to live with and marry an author... It's a good job that I love you so much Buffy." He smiled and nuzzled against her.

Okay, this was all very confusing - focus on what you know. "Where's Dawn?"

William tugged on one of the soft, blonde curls framing her face. "Relax, she's currently with Lucy and Davina, remember? Being spoiled mercilessly by her two favourite 'aunts'." At Buffy's confused look he smirked. "Or as you call the characters in your book that you based on them, Tara and Willow."

Buffy stared blankly at him for a moment then just closed her eyes, hoping that when she opened her eyes again, the world would make sense...

**eieio**

Dawn sagged with relief as her sister opened her eyes. "Thank God! You scared me, Buffy. What happened?"

Buffy looked at her sister blankly for a moment. "I... Don't know." What the hell was that? There wasn't a hint of her parents or the asylum... She stood up on shaky legs with Dawn's help and headed home. The trio would have to wait. Again.

An hour later, she had to get to work. She wasn't exactly looking forward to it but what choice was there? She sighed and looked at her sister as she handed her notepad over. "Okay, I've done a sketch that you can show to the others when they get here for research. The name is something like Glarg Gull Kashmir nick.". She rubbed her sore head. "I'll see you when I get home."

Dawn nodded. "Right, got it - Glarg Gull Kashmir nick." She wrote the name down below Buffy's drawing. "Hey, take it easy tonight okay, you don't look so good." Buffy nodded and headed out to work.

**eieio**

Work was as it always was - dull. It didn't help that she kept drifting off, thinking about this latest hallucination and trying to make sense of it and why it had changed.

After messing up her millionth burger of the night (slight exaggeration), the manager appeared at her side, taking the utensil she was holding. "Buffy please go and take orders and send Janelle back here instead. You're a little too distracted right now to be making food - we couldn't afford the lawsuits."

The dazed-looking blonde nodded and went to do as she was told. At least she didn't need to focus much on that...

The woman giving her order eyed her angrily. "Why would I want fries with fries? Are you trying to say I'm fat?". She turned to her friends. "Like O.M.G! She totally called me fat! You heard her, right? Like who does she think she is?"

Buffy gasped. "I didn't - I'm sorry. I was on automat-"

The Manager stepped in quickly before somehow made things worse. "Ma'am, I am so sorry. Clearly you are not fat. My staff member is rather unwell with a migraine..." Buffy tuned the rest of the apology out.

**eieio**

She sat at the table, talking to Willow who was holding the cutest child she ever saw on her lap. "Aww, Willow... Is that your child?"

Willow smiled indulgently at her friend. "William was right - you have been working too hard on that story of yours. I'm Davina remember? This bundle of sleeping gorgeousness is your daughter Dawn."

Buffy did a double take at her friend then peered down at the child. As she studied her, she realised that Willow… no, Davina… was telling the truth – the baby had her nose but William's cheek. How strange was that? She was a mother. A proper mother! Not just a strange mother-type as she was to her sister back in Sunnydale. She reached out and took her daughter as Davina offered her to her and as she pulled her close to her body to cuddle, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. This was where she belonged, most definitely.

**eieio**

After defusing the situation, the manager turned to Buffy. "Go home, Buffy. If you're not feeling better in the morning, call and let me know - please don't come to work if you're still this under the weather."

Buffy thought to protest but the other woman had a point - she was just wasting the Double Meat Palace's money at this point. She nodded, got her stuff and left.

As she walked home, she tried to make sense of what was going on. All she knew for sure was that the hallucinations had changed - they were no longer distressing, her sister and friends were there... Why had they changed? Whatever the reason, they needed to fix it - and fast!

She headed home, never more grateful to see the building in which she lived than in that moment. Before she could put her key in the lock, however, the door was opened... By Xander!

Buffy beamed at him, pushing her worries aside for that moment as she hugged him. "Xander! You're home - did you and Anya have a good time? Where is your blushing bride?"

Xander smiled and hugged back for a moment before releasing her to close the door behind her. "Yes we are, we definitely did and Anya is in the front room filling everyone in on all the lovely sights we witnessed." He ushered his friend in ahead of him.

Buffy walked in, keen to see Anya and know finally that yes, everything really was okay. She couldn't stop grinning as she heard Anya's comment: "Of course, I've seen it all before. Twice! Still, it's so much better seeing it with someone you love." The ex-demon beamed over at her husband. Buffy felt herself relaxing a little. She had made the right decision stopping Xander throwing it away because of nerves… and a stupid demon out for revenge.

**eieio**

Some time later, they all headed out on patrol as there was still so much more to hear about the Honeymoon - and a lot to fill the pair in on relating to Sunnnydale. Xander was currently filling them in on their arrival at the hotel. "You should have seen the place. Complete mess - someone said something about a tremor but that didn't add up. There was just something so familiar, right Ahn?" Anya nodded, apparently content to let Xander tell the tale.

"I wrecked my brain before it dawned on me that it was just like Hallowe'en that time with the Fear Demon? People cowering in random places, all rather surreal." Xander shrugged. "I mentioned the fact to my lovely wife thinking that we should relocate but I should have known better," a wide grin spread over Xander's face before he continued. "Anya agreed and left me... Half an hour later, she was back, carrying the little demon by the scruff of its neck.". He shook his head and chuckled. "Next thing you know, she was holding him over a pint of beer threatening to drown him if he didn't leave - she hadn't wanted to kill him on account of it being our Honeymoon. Hah, little bugger fled in about half a second flat." He beamed at Anya. "I was very proud... Bet you can't top that one Buff-". Xander turned his attention to the Slayer only to realise that while they were talking, Buffy had collapsed. The gang rushed over to her.

**eieio**

Buffy sat at the kitchen table facing Spi- William. He frowned as he looked at her. "Buffy, love, I'm worried about you. I know that you love writing but I think you're getting in too deep. You're walking around here like a zombie when you're not writing on that computer. It feels like we haven't had a proper conversation in years - six to be precise." He shook his head and sighed.

"I don't know what it is about this Sunnydale series that makes it so different from your other books but it definitely **is** different..."

William reached for her hand across the table for her hand. "You do know that Sunnydale isn't real, don't you?"

Buffy shook her head and William sighed before a smirk formed on his lips. "Guess I'm just going to have to ground you a little...". He leaned in and kissed her, thus followed some of the sweetest and amazingly wonderful lovemaking that Buffy had ever experienced.

**eieio**

As Buffy should have been basking in the after-glow, she opened her eyes to look at her husband only to be greeted by the view of her sister looking annoyed. "So your ideal reality features you and Spike boinking a lot, huh? You talked a lot while you were out of it. Even Xander got what you were talking about. Of course the moans probably had something to do with it." She glared at her sister. "So I guess I don't belong in your perfect reality, huh?" She eyed her for a moment then seemed to sag. "I told the others about what you said is going on. They're putting together a potion as we speak to make it stop."

Buffy was having a hard time pulling herself back to Sunnydale. Would it really be so bad to stay in the other world? She shook her head to clear it but a splash of reality was more forthcoming when she saw Dawn's face fall. She spoke up quickly.

"Of course you were there. Well, kinda. You're my daughter and only about two or three. I guess the idea is that you were born in that world when you came into being here." She reached out and pulled her sister in for a hug. "How could I have a perfect world where I didn't have you in it?"

Dawn perked up, grinned even. "It certainly wouldn't be anywhere near as cool."

Willow came back into the room and let out a relieved sigh as she was greeted by the sight of a conscious Slayer grinning at her sister. "Hey Buffy, glad to see you're awake... I found the demon. That's the good news. It's called Glarghk Guhl Kashmas'nik so you were actually pretty close so Anya owes me twenty dollars but that's clearly besides the point."

She gave her blonde friend a serious look. "Why didn't you tell me that you were in love with Spike? I mean, it takes all sorts and all but a heads up that didn't involve you having loud dream boinking would have been nice."

Buffy winced and Willow shrugged. "We'll talk more about it later. More important right now is the demon - apparently it's traditionally not much of a fighter. What it does instead is inject its victim with a slow-working toxin which alters the mind of its prey." As she noticed the blank look on the Slayer's face, she managed to resist the urge to sigh and elaborated further. "Effectively it works by giving you a perfect reality that you will choose then eventually you get trapped in the dream world and don't feel a thing when the demon comes back and then, well, it eats you." She shrugged apologetically.

Buffy sighed. "Figures - always something to stop me enjoying pleasant dreams - Mom, an alarm clock, an Apocalypse... Now to that list, demon who wants to eat me." She grimaced but sat up straighter. "Right, well no offence to that quiet life but I like it here and I want to stay." She barely registered the look of amazement that crossed the faces of the other young women. "Need to find that stupid demon."

Buffy stood up then immediately sat back down again. "Okay probably shouldn't have... Stood up... So fast. Dizzy." She gave it a minute and tried again. "Just in case I'm not up to this, you might wanna get Tara and come up with some sort of spell to stop this thing in its tracks? I probably shouldn't be on my own, right?" She took a step and stumbled but Dawn was there to catch her. "Right."

Willow frowned. "You're really not up to fighting a feather duster let alone a demon, Buffy. I'm sure that Tara and I can find a spell to summon it here, trap it, get what we need and all will be fine. Just sit there, relax and... I'll call Tara." Willow nodded to herself. "Right. Going now. To call Tara. No big deal."

Both Dawn and Buffy smiled reassuringly at her. Dawn was the one to speak. "Relax Willow - this is Tara you're talking about. You two have the big love. She misses you, the only reason that she'll be disappointed to hear from you is that it's 'work'."

Willow nodded, feeling more confident. "Right. You're right." She went and grabbed the phone, dialling quickly before she lost her nerve.

It was that little bit awkward talking to Tara at the start but in moments, it was as it always was and it hurt just a little to end the call. The thought that Tara was on her way over though consoled her. She bounced happily into the room. "She's on her way."

Dawn both grinned at her. "Told ya." Buffy smiled as she leaned back on the bed once more and closed her eyes.

**eieio**

Buffy might have panicked when she opened her eyes and realised she could see nothing but before she had time to, she registered the feel of cloth over her eyes. Blindfold.

William smiled and shook his head. "I told you there's absolutely nothing to worry about, love. I'm not about to let you fall or - God forbid - embarrass you so please walk."

Buffy smiled at the trace of impatience in his voice. "Sorry." She walked haltingly on until her lover told her to stop. "Can I take this off?" She fidgeted with the edge of the cloth, wanting some light to ground her in the other reality, make it more real so she could enjoy whatever her 'husband' was up to now. Buffy's hands were swatted away in a playful manner. Before she could complain, William's hands were freeing the cloth from around her face.

Buffy had to take a moment to adjust to the light of the street lamps around her. On realising just where they were, her eyes were automatically drawn to **that** house - her dream house. Oddly, instead of the usual 'for sale' sign and emptiness, lots of little tea lights dotted up its path and through the open door of the abode.

Her heart sank a little as she realised that someone must have bought it before they could. Her husband's chuckle as he saw the look on her face made her turn to look at him. "William, what's..."

William smiled and nudged her gently in the direction of the house. "So as it turns out, we had enough money to buy this house..."

Buffy's eyes widened in amazement and delight before she turned around and threw her arms around her husband. "Oh my God! Really?" She beamed as she rested her hands on his cheeks as she peppered kisses all over his face.

After a few moments of kissing and general making out in the middle of the street, a flushed William pulled away from her. "Probably not a great idea to be giving the new neighbours a show before we've even moved in, right?" He panted a little but grinned and took her hand and led her into the house, shutting the door behind them. "There's a nice new four-poster bed upstairs..." He raised a brow at his woman and grinned as she pulled him hurriedly towards the stairs...

**eieio**

Once more Buffy found her after-glow taken away too soon as she realised she was in Sunnydale again with Willow standing in front of her, holding out a cup filled with something that smelled absolutely revolting.

"Jeez Buffy - you sure have a lot of sex with Spike." She shook her head and laughed and offered the cup to her. "At least he exists here too so there's no reason for you not to take this, right? Drink!"

Buffy took the drink from her but didn't drink straight away - she gave herself over for a moment to the idea that the dream was real and that life was easier... How lovely that would be.

The Slayer in her of course, could not stay silent for long. How **boring**! Besides she had Spike (wherever he was at the moment), Dawn and all her friends here too. This world was better. She drank down the gross concoction.

**eieio**

Buffy sat with Willow in the front room, a James Spader film playing in the background. "So you managed a spell okay? You found one okay, rather?"

Willow nodded. "Yeah, it was rather simple in the end. We found a summoning spell that Tara changed enough to bring the thing here. Dawn had another - very simple - spell ready to knock the demon unconscious, Xander and Anya tied it up and that was that."

The witch shrugged. "All ridiculously easy compared to the usual. I even had time to fit in a cup of coffee with Tara in the kitchen while you were getting rid of the demon after you'd recovered from the effect of the spell."

Buffy beamed at her friend, happy for her. "That's great Will - you'll be back together properly in no time, I know it."

Willow looked hopeful. "Goddess, that's all I want."


	24. Pride Comes Before a Fall

Buffy stood outside the trio's house and glared at it, trying to decide what to do. She knew that if she went in there, there would be traps – the buzz saws and whatnot… what she really needed to do was to remember if there was anything of actual use in there… "Actually, what would be really useful about now would be remembering what set off the darn things in the first place."

The blonde sighed as she realised that she was effectively finding a way to waste time so that she wouldn't think so much of Spike and worry about him. She growled and turned her back on the house and prepared to walk away – what did she really need in the house anyway? The Slayer groaned however as she realised she couldn't - what if an innocent were to walk into that house and set off the trap. They wouldn't after all, have Slayer reflexes to save them… unless it was Faith back in Sunnydale already, out for a stroll and drawn to the one house in all of the town that was booby trapped (that she knew of anyway). She sighed and removed her jacket, folded it and set it behind a bush. "You're not ruining my jacket **this** time, you jerks!"

It took her ten minutes to grab stray papers and the book she had grabbed before. She shrugged and stopped for a couple of things that caught her eye and a couple of boxed figurines claiming to be from Star Wars that she figured Xander would like, threw them out the door near her jacket then sighed and set off the buzz saws. At least this time when she left the house, things were much improved – her jacket was in one piece as were the papers and book and Xander was going to be very happy.

**eieio**

Xander smiled across the table at Anya. "Some day we're going to really push the boat out and go out somewhere further than Sunnydale on a night out but at least we're here together right? And alone," he looked around the busy club, "relatively." He smiled lopsidedly at his wife.

Anya smiled at him. "It does work out so much cheaper when it's just you and me. Also, we can dance up close without Dawn being all 'Ewww, that's so gross.'"

Xander laughed and leaned in closer and kissed her. "Those are definitely bonuses."

Of course, this being a typical day in Sunnydale, they weren't to be allowed time alone in peace – someone was apparently causing a problem in the place and as used as they were to helping the Slayer deal with trouble, they both moved to see what they could do to calm the situation. "Always something, huh?" Anya shrugged. "Seems that way."

Xander cursed under his breath as he saw that it was the idiotic trio. He looked over at his wife and shook his head. "Anya, stay back okay – I don't trust them as far as I can throw them and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

Anya's first instinct was to argue with him, say that she was just as capable of looking after herself as he was… but then she remembered that Warren had in fact already killed at least one woman that they knew of. She nodded and retreated out of sight.

He gave himself a quick pep talk to help switch from romance to peacemaker mode. "Okay, just a bunch of nerds that never leave the house and definitely don't to any heavy lifting. I deal with heavy construction work, day and daily – plus staking of the occasional vamp. This is not a problem." While doing that, he watched Warren as he made his way across the room seemingly intent on trying to score with some woman desperate enough to go home with a creep such as him.

Xander couldn't help but roll his eyes as he watched Warren walk up to the bar and leer at the women sitting there who were quite obviously desperately trying to not make eye contact with him. "Oh don't worry about the tab, ladies. It's on Daddy tonight."

Xander couldn't help but cringe when he heard that. Sadly, it got worse as Warren thumped the cash register and helped himself to a handful of notes. "Don't worry babies – Daddy gonna give you some too." The creep actually set the wad down in front of one of the women after using it to rub up and down her arm a few times. Xander couldn't actually help but shudder at that – as he noted, did the woman that the creep was currently giving his attention to. "Mmm fine way to get a woman's attention – throw clearly stolen money at her in the place you stole it from. Why didn't **I** think of that with Anya?" He snorted and shook his head. "Moron!"

He shook his head and walked up to the man. "See now, I think that it's the Daddy thing that's throwing her – incest… not that sexy." He managed not to roll his eyes as Warren did his best to look intimidating as the other man realised who was daring to talk to him and closed the distance between them – he even managed to resist telling him something along the lines of "oh please – a house fly is more intimidating than you." …

"So uh, why don't we leave the ladies to their impending nausea and take the freak show outside. What do you say?" Xander cast a gaze over, spotted the other nerds sitting further along the bar noting that the short one was doing his best to make himself invisible while the blonde freak just seemed to be gazing at Warren with love in his eyes… He chose to forget the creepiness of that last thought and focus once more on Warren and whether or not the male was drunk or high. When Warren smirked at him, Xander was fairly certain it was 'high'.

"Let me ask you something first – you think you could put a word in for me with your wife? I mean, if she's taking it from **you**, I'm thinking I might have a chance!"

Xander saw red and punched him. Hard. It should have knocked Warren to the floor. It didn't. It just felt like he'd broken his hand. Really badly!

Warren snorted. "Wow you really hit like a girl - I'm sure she would love the chance to actually screw a **man** for a change." He gave Xander a pitiful look… then punched him hard enough in the face to send him clean across the floor.

Xander lay on the floor, hurting badly from the punch and the landing, his lower face was covered in blood. He barely had time to groan before Warren was standing over him. "Let's see if she will still love you without a face…" Fortunately, before he could do more than lift his foot off the floor, his cohort, who had been hiding earlier, stopped him. "Don't, we have to leave!" Jonathan gestured to his watch. Xander's head was swimming too much to hear the rest of the conversation.

Anya glared at the people standing in her way. "GET OUT OF MY WAY! NOW! MOVE! THAT IS MY HUSBAND!" Finally the sea of idiots shifted enough that she could get to him and she rushed as fast as she could over to him. "Xander? XANDER!" The ex-demon fell to her knees beside the unconscious man, lifted his head up off the hard floor, setting it down carefully on her lap. "Somebody help me!"

The bartender appeared then from the back with bouncers and a baseball bat in hand, ready to take out the idiots that had started the fight. When he saw that they had cleared out, he sent the men back to their posts and moved over to the couple, quickly checking for a pulse. "It's okay Ma'am. Your husband should be fine. He's got a nice healthy pulse and is breathing okay. Just give him a few minutes and he'll wake up. He's gonna be pretty sore though. Do you know the guys who did it? I could use your statements when I call the police…"

Anya blinked and tried to take in what he was saying about the police. She had been so relieved to hear that her Xander was okay that she had only been partially listening. "I… no. No. Sorry."

The bartender sighed, moved over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of water and a wad of napkins, brought them over to her. "Here – you should clean up the blood for him." He grimaced as he looked around the bar. At least the damage was minimal. Some nights it was much worse. He cast a glance at the clock on the cash register and sighed. Then again, it was still early. He moved behind the bar, gathered the money back into the till then grabbed a dustpan and broom and started to tidy up. The police he knew, would do nothing like bothering with checking for fingerprints.

**eieio**

Buffy let herself into the house, set the recovered items down on the living room table then headed into the kitchen to get a drink – some orange juice would be nice. She walked into the hall and shouted up the stairs. "Dawn?"

Dawn's eyes opened wide and she rushed quickly to the stairs. "Buffy, down here. Quick."

Dawn didn't sound freaked out but just in case, she rushed down the stairs… and saw her sister standing there with the biggest grin on her face.

"Okay, you're grinning widely and looking like you're about to bounce out of the room with sheer happiness. So what gives?"

Dawn actually squeaked. "Willow and Tara… upstairs. They stayed together last night. You weren't home though so you didn't see but they're definitely together again. Isn't it awesome?" She did at that moment do a little dance.

Buffy grinned back at her, happy to see her sister so clearly thrilled - as she was too - about the news of their friends' reunion. "That's great."

After some moments of just enjoying the moment, Dawn finally registered that Buffy's shirt was ripped. "Oh, what happened to your shirt?"

Buffy shrugged. "Went to the trio's house, found some papers, they set a trap and tried to kill me with buzz saws but hey, this shirt was old and I saved my jacket so it's all good."

Dawn stared at her sister, her jaw hanging open. "They did what? Ohh you found papers? That could be useful. Really useful! We might find something on there to actually get to be one step ahead of them for a change." The younger woman visibly sagged. "I guess that means that we should go get Willow and Tara to help research, huh?"

Buffy considered it. After all, she had more information than she had last time around. Then again, they would have time enough to study it later, wouldn't they? Besides, if she had to actually stand back and let Tara die **again**, then how could she take any time away from them at all?

The blonde shook her head and smiled. "Nope, not tonight. Tomorrow will be time enough, I'm sure. I mean, they're in a new first flush of love, right? Why bother ruining that with research? Just for tonight, though." She didn't want her sister thinking that she was idly slacking off! That would hardly do when Dawn was still dealing with her punishment for shoplifting. "Tonight I think, is actually a good time for **all** of us to relax a little… how about we get a movie and some popcorn? You can choose."

Dawn beamed. "Really? Yay! I mean, I love research and all but, yeah I could definitely go for that."

**eieio**

They had managed to watch half an hour of the film when Xander came in. He was a little unsteady on his feet so Anya had her arm around his waist. One of his arms was around her shoulders, the other hand was holding an icepack to the right side of his face.

Dawn's eyes widened as she saw them. "Guys! I thought you were going out on a date! What happened? Who attacked you?"

Buffy looked at them, instantly rising to her feet and ready to lay down some major hurt. "Oh my God! Xander, are you okay?"

Xander sighed and sat down with some relief as Anya guided him to a chair. "Warren."

Anya paced around the floor, looking totally freaked out. "Buffy, he was so strong… he sent my Xander straight across the room. He spilt some of his precious blood. I thought he was **dead**! How did he get so **strong**?"

Buffy closed her eyes and cursed softly. Right. The bank job… the orbs in the pack... Warren at least as strong as her… jet packs! How had she forgotten?

Anya stopped pacing when she was standing in front of Buffy once more. "They were talking about something. Something big, I think. Something soon because Jonathan was gesturing to his watch and they said something about having to go **now**," she frowned, "they **hurt** Xander, Buffy. Badly. You need to stop them now!"

Buffy nodded. "I do." She sighed and wished, not for the first time, that she hadn't sent Spike away yet – he would be useful right now. If he hadn't been hurt so badly, she would ask Xander to come with her but that wasn't an option. She wouldn't risk anyone else and she still wasn't willing to disturb Willow and Tara to ask for help via some sort of spell. _(Pity really – a sleep spell would have been perfect. Ah well.)_ She headed to the door and grabbed her jacket. "Alright. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Dawn gasped and rushed over to her. "Buffy, you can't face them alone – you heard what Anya said. Warren was strong! What if he hurts you? You know he won't stop just because you're female!"

Buffy half-smiled at her sister and hugged her tight. "There's not a chance that I'm going to let him within a mile of any of you Dawnie. I want you all to stay safe, okay? This won't take long, I promise. I've got my cell here too so I'll call you and let you know as soon as I'm done. Promise."

Xander raised a hand to say something. "Buffy, stay safe, okay?" He winced a little. "I know I can't match your strength but I **am** pretty strong for a guy – certainly stronger than Warren should be – but he was stronger."

Buffy grinned at him. "Trust me, Xander – I can take him. Just sit back, relax and when I come home, we're all having ice cream." With that said, she left.

Dawn frowned and looked at the couple. "Shouldn't we follow her?"

Anya looked over and shook her head. "No. I don't think we'd be much help to Buffy against the nerds right now, Dawn – especially not Warren. I mean, in a fair fight, they wouldn't stand a chance but they'd just conjure up demons or something," she sighed and looked at Xander, "it's better to leave Buffy to do her thing without having to worry about us getting hurt."

Dawn sighed but she could see the logic in the argument so sat down, lifting up the book that Buffy had found earlier that day in the trio's lair. She may as well see if she could learn anything from it while she waited, right?

Anya looked at the book. "What's that?" When Dawn quickly explained, she nodded in understanding and lifted up the papers that rested on the table, sat down on the floor by Xander's knees and started going through them.

**eieio**

Buffy made her way to where she knew the idiots were going and shook her head. Okay, all she had to do was what she had done last time – break the balls, hit Warren and that was it. End of story. Easy enough. Except this time, she wouldn't even give the short one a chance to tell her what to do – first chance she got, she was breaking them. _(Let's see how Warren likes __**that**__!)_

The Slayer got there just as Warren was in the process of tipping up the van filled with money. She snorted. _(God, I hate this jerk!) _She stood on the 'top' of the van when he was done and looked down on him. "Y'know, even demons have more originality than to try stealing a load of money but then, I guess this is you we're talking about so actually it fits perfectly, right?"

She dropped to the ground and looked at him for a moment and waited for a smart comeback.

Warren eyed her. "Oh my bad… then again, I don't think that the normal world tends to trade in kittens like that vampire you've been screwing does it. So really, why should they bother with originality?" He snorted. "Kittens, at least in my opinion, are overrated."

Buffy blinked, taken aback by what he had said first. She hadn't known that Warren was aware of the relationship between her and Spike.

Warren took advantage of her slight shock and punched her hard, sending her flying just as he had done to Xander earlier.

Buffy winced and sat up. Seriously? This was what she chose to worry about? That someone knew about Spike? She shook her head and stood. "Wow, did you inject some demon venom into that nerd blood of yours or something? That almost hurt."

Warren snorted. "Maybe – or maybe you've just never fought a real man before." He advanced and started throwing a few punches. Buffy avoided most of them – clearly Warren was only good at fighting people who didn't have a chance of fighting back… like poor Katrina. This man was more evil than Spike ever had been. At least when Spike had assaulted her, he had no soul, he had an excuse! Warren had a soul and acted like this? It was inexcusable and sickening. She growled and dropped to the ground as he aimed a punch at her head.

While she was down there, she spotted the package around his waist, reached to grab them and instead did something possibly hugely consequential – she ripped out the leads at the bottom of the jet packet she knew that he was wearing. Of course, this left the Slayer no time to grab the pack around his waist.

Then again, as Warren grabbed her arm and hauled her back up again, she decided this fight could go on a little longer – he was so much better than a punch bag.

They traded more blows but just as Warren launched into another boring monologue, Buffy grunted as something was suddenly thrust upon her back. "His orbs! Smash his orbs!" It was Jonathan of course.

Warren whooped. "Woohoo! Sparky finally got some balls, eh?"

Buffy had to sigh as she realised that so far, this day had pretty much gone as it had previously. She shoved Jonathan off of her and smiled just a little as she realised that at least Anya and Xander were together.

Warren of course took great offence at this, assuming that Buffy was mocking him. "What, you think you can beat me? I'm just playing with you at the minute, bitch! Right now, I'm on about Level One of what I can do – when I get to Ten, you'll know!"

The Slayer rolled her eyes. "Ugh, you're such a cliché. What comic book did you steal that from?" Time to end this stupidity! She launched herself at him. "You're a sad, pathetic little man Warren – now you're going to pay for what you've done. All of it!"

Buffy moved as if to punch him in the stomach but no blow came. He only felt the smallest of tugs around his waist followed by a muffled smashing sound. He had even been about to say something condescending about what pathetic power she had clearly running out when he felt the power that had buoyed him up suddenly leave him. He felt instantly bereft. He blinked and looked down and stared dumbly at the ground as he saw what had caused the slight noise he had heard.

Buffy gave him a second to let the change in circumstances sink in, smirked at him then punched him hard enough to send him sailing. "**That** was for Xander! Also, that's what it's like to be hit by a real **woman** by the way."

Warren whimpered as he hit the ground hard but managed to find his way to his feet, hearing Andrew call his name. He ignored him, didn't even look his way – he needed to escape and come up with a new plan to make money after all! He and Andrew could definitely do that together. At least one part of the plan remained intact - Jonathan could remain the scapegoat. He ripped off his shirt and glared at the blonde woman. "You don't get to beat me that easy, bitch! I have more brains than you'll ever have. I'll beat you, take over this place and the residents will be my **slaves**!"

Buffy raised a brow and started stomping over to him just as Warren pressed the handle to start his jet pack and escape…

Nothing happened. Well, apart from the fact that Buffy reached him and proceeded to hit him hard enough to knock him out cold long before he flopped to a heap on the ground. "If you really had brains worth talking about, you wouldn't have tried this crap in **my** town! Moron."

She turned and looked at Andrew and Jonathan. "I'm feeling generous right now so I'm gonna give you two morons a choice – leave now or go to jail!"

Andrew decided that maybe Warren wasn't the best bet after all. "Uh Jonathan, you know any spells that would get us away from here real quick?" The two looked at each other for a second then turned and fled as Buffy watched. "Smart move."

Jonathan gave the blonde an irritated look. "Sure. I keep that sort of thing handy just in case – like Warren's jetpack." He stopped running and grabbed the blonde's arm so that he had no choice but to do the same then he glared up at him. "Did you know about that?"

Andrew fidgeted, did his best to discreetly pull his jacket down at the back. "Uh no. No! Total surprise to me! Can you believe he'd do that to us? Leave us to deal with the Slayer? Really, **really** mean!"

Jonathan shrugged and started walking again. "Sounds about right for him. You know what he was like."

**eieio**

Dawn grabbed her phone and almost sagged with relief when she saw that it was Buffy calling. Then again, what if Warren had beaten her and was calling to gloat? She answered tentatively but relaxed as she heard Buffy's voice. "You're okay?"

Buffy grinned. "Oh, you bet. Warren was using orbs to make him stronger. Didn't work for long – used him as a punching bag then broke the orbs. Right now, I'm tying him up then I'm going to lug him to the police station."

Dawn beamed. "Buffy, that's fantastic! Oh, what about Andrew and the other one though?"

Buffy shrugged as she pulled the knot tight. "Eh, they're heading to Mexico apparently. Doesn't much matter – Warren is the evil one in all this. As long as we've got him, the rest can wait." _(And I'll deal with the other consequences as and when. Just as I always do.) _She secured the knot then released the phone from its awkward position held between the side of her head and her shoulder. "Anyway, gotta go Dawn – I should be home… actually, can you guys meet me at the police station with the disc I got from their house – there's something on it about their plans for tonight. That and information about Katrina should keep him behind bars for years to come."

**eieio**

Buffy walked out of the police station two hours later with Dawn, Anya and a recovered Xander and had to stop after about a hundred yards. "Holy crap! It's over. I mean… it's really over!" She turned and beamed at the three of them. "I can't believe it. Everything is different now. How amazing is that?"

Of course the others didn't understand exactly how different but they were pleased and relieved none the less.

Xander grinned. "Some of the best news ever. I think it calls for a celebration."

Buffy nodded. "Absolutely. I mentioned ice cream, right? I bought new tubs just this morning."

Xander considered, looked at Anya then back at Buffy with a smile. "Can we take a rain cheque on that one? I think right now, I'm about good for nothing more than sleep."

Buffy smiled at them. "Sure thing – tomorrow though, you're both officially invited to my place for a mini-party to celebrate that and Tara and Willow's re-togetherness." She grinned and looked at Dawn. "Come on Dawn." The two sisters walked with the couple until they got to their home, said quick goodbyes and headed to their own home for the promised ice cream – and the rest of the movie.

**eieio**

When the women got home, Willow and Tara were standing in the living room looking worriedly at the television. "Did we miss something?"

Dawn waved aside their worries. "Nope, nothing that can't wait until tomorrow anyways." She grinned and headed into the kitchen.

Buffy laughed. "What she said! Hey, we've got ice cream if you're interested."

The three followed Dawn happily into the kitchen.

**eieio**

A/N: Mostly completely irrelevant but while watching this episode again, I noted that Xander holds the ice pack to the right side of his face while talking to Buffy in the Summers' house. Yet later, when he comes to the back yard to talk to her, the mark on his face is on the left side. I'm sticking with the right side though.


	25. The Fall

Buffy woke up the next morning with a wide grin on her face. This day was nearly perfect – nothing could spoil her good mood now. Nothing. She had stopped Warren; hadn't had any bad dreams about it; best of all, Tara was going to **live**!

Okay, Willow now wasn't going to have to freak out and go all veiny and stuff and so wouldn't have all that magic at her fingertips but now there would be two witches to deal with whatever came their way. It was going to be fine!

She actually hummed as she made her way down the stairs after getting ready. The only small fly in the ointment was that Spike wasn't back...

That was okay though. Given the time frame before, he still had time. She definitely wasn't panicking. Nope.

Not panicking! Just keeping very, very busy.

Dawn looked up as Buffy walked into the kitchen. "Well, you're in a good mood this morning. Can't remember the last time you were so perky and… humming." She raised a brow as she studied her sister. "Are you really this happy because the trio have been stopped? I mean, it's good news and all but…"

Buffy grinned and almost danced over to her sister to hug her. "Dawn, the sun is shining, the birds are singing, the trio has been stopped and friends are coming over to spend a lazy Saturday with us. What could be better? You wanna invite Janice over?"

Dawn nearly choked. "Wow, really?" For a moment she allowed herself to get excited then shook her head. "Nah. The last time I brought her over here, the demon with the funky hair attacked. Obviously I couldn't tell her what it **really** was so she decided I'd played a prank on her. Took ages for her to forgive me after that. I don't think I'll tempt fate."

Buffy winced a little at the remembered incident. "Probably took her a good ten washes to get that stuff outta her hair. I see your point. Ah well, looks like it'll just be the gang then – minus Giles, obviously."

Dawn frowned as she moved over to grab a glass. "Still no sign of Spike yet?"

The blonde shook her head. "No, not yet but it's okay – I'm not expecting anything yet. I mean, getting your soul back is bound to be complicated, right? I mean, look how complicated Angel's soul return was and **it's** not even permanent and binding!"

Dawn nodded. "He'll be back – Spike never could stay away from you for very long," she shrugged, "even when he wanted to kill you."

Strangely that thought gave the Slayer comfort and she beamed at her sister. "Right."

**eieio**

The party was going well – even Tara and Willow had managed to take time away from the bedroom and were down talking and even more unthinkably, putting as much as a whole metre of space between each other at times. Buffy smiled and looked around, spotted Xander sitting by himself with his eyes closed, just soaking up the sun. With a soft sigh, she lifted her drink and made her way over to him.

She was standing in front of him but he still didn't move or acknowledge her in any way. Which meant that he was really mad with her or she had been a tad too stealthy. She hoped fervently it was the latter but previous conversations between the two friends, which related to Spike, hadn't exactly gone well so she didn't get her hopes up. "Hey. Mind if I join you?"

Xander opened his eyes and straightened, even smiled a little as he looked at her. "No, come on and sit, enjoy the laziness of lolling in the sun with me on this lovely day."

She smiled and sat down with a sigh as she actually took the time to notice the feel of the sun on her skin. "That does feel very nice. Y'know, I think I missed my calling - I should have been a cat in this life. That way I could spend most of my days just basking in the sun."

Xander snorted. "Interesting. Then again, we know how well it went when Buffy Summers didn't come to Sunnydale so perhaps it's a good thing that you were born human after all. Well, a slightly superior human being than most but still… human. Don't really think that a cat would have cut the mustard when it came to slaying vampires and demons."

Buffy frowned as she was forced then to remember the conversation that she had had with Tara now a lifetime ago. "Well, for the most part I'm human now. Slightly different though – I came back just slightly wrong." She smiled a little. "I was so worried when I first discovered that Spike could hit me. I thought that there was something wrong with me - something that made me seek him out."

Xander smiled and shook his head. "Have you noticed how many of your conversations of late go back to him?"

Buffy blinked and looked at him. "They do?"

Xander shrugged. "Nah, not really but I figured I'd just run with the idea as a subtle lead-in to the 'you and Spike' conversation."

Buffy inclined her head. "Ah. Subtle. I like it."

Xander grinned at her. "Subtlety isn't really my strong point after living with Anya for so long… do you love him, Buffy?"

The blonde looked her friend in the eye so he could see that she was telling him the truth. "I do. Very much! I know that he's not your favourite person in the world and all but he has so much potential to be good, Xander."

Xander frowned. "What if the chip stops working some day? What then?"

Buffy shrugged. "It **will** stop working, Xander. Everything has only a certain amount of time in this world," her gaze skipped briefly over to Tara, "but I'm not worried. He's gone to get a soul. For me! He loves me too. Think how much more he'll love me **with** a soul! How many people would have withstood Glory's torture just because losing her would have killed me?"

Xander leaned back. "Well, that changes things… and yes, I knew that he loved you or at least as close as any demon **could** get but… doesn't that stop you … you know… getting down to it?"

The woman smiled and shook her head. "It's an entirely different set up to Angel's. This isn't a curse. This is a prize. He had to take part in a series of trials that were not pleasant or easy so when he succeeded, the soul was his for keeps."

Xander nodded. "Good. I'm glad." He mulled that over for a moment then sat up. "Well, he wouldn't be my choice for you. Ideally someone like Riley but look at how he ran out on you!" He wrinkled his nose. "One thing you can say about Spike is that he never leaves you for long."

Buffy watched his face, trying to work out what he was thinking. "You don't seem… as disapproving as I had expected. Part of me was really **really** expecting you to point out that he wasn't good enough, that I could do better…"

Xander studied his friend's face for a moment before speaking. "For the most part, I don't like the guy, Buffy. He rubs me up the wrong way – I guess it's the vampire part of him that just can't resist finding people's weak spots and exploiting them. You though, you look happy and it's been a long time since I saw you look that way. Back in the early days of Riley, maybe… before you found out that he wasn't just a regular guy."

"Mostly I was hurt that you didn't trust me enough to tell me the news yourself – I had to find out about you having feelings for Spike via the fact that he was there in your dream world hallucination and you were having noisy dream sex... There was a time that we told each other everything. Now, we're still close and all be we don't really **talk**," he sighed and looked over at Anya, "I think a lot of it stems from the fact that I love you and Willow so much yet there are days that I feel like we're growing apart, y'know? We all have other stuff in our lives now…"

Buffy snorted. "Just because we've become adults somewhere along the line, found people we love and have actually done normal adult things like own houses with our names on the deeds does **not** mean that we've grown apart, Xander. You're still one of my best friends and I absolutely would not have it any other way! We're family plain and simple."

She smiled at Xander and opened her arms up for a hug. Xander couldn't resist smiling back as he hugged her. "I love you Buffy. You're still one of my best friends too."

**eieio**

Of course this being Buffy's world, she couldn't just get to enjoy the simple pleasure of hugging her friend. Buffy tensed as she heard Dawn shouting a warning to her, her voice sounding more than a little panicked.

The Slayer released her friend, stood and quickly scanning the garden for a threat… her blood ran cold as she saw it: a furious Warren heading her way, gun in hand. "No! You're in jail!"

Warren smirked at her, looking every bit as insane as she remembered. "YOU'D THINK SO, WOULDN'T YOU? THAT'S THE THING ABOUT HAVING MORE BRAINS THAN YOU THOUGH – NOT THAT **THAT** WOULD BE HARD – I HAD A CONTINGENCY PLAN IN PLACE SHOULD SOMETHING HAPPEN!" he tapped the side of his head with his left forefinger. "TOLD YOU, BITCH! YOU CAN'T WIN AGAINST ME! I HAVE THE SMARTS THAT YOU JUST… DON'T!"

Buffy cast a wary glance around. "Everyone, get into the house, okay?" She heard Xander about to protest, "**NO **arguments! Just go! Now!" She would NOT allow this to happen again.

Warren glared as he looked around at everyone. "WHY DON'T YOU BUNCH OF **LOSERS **DO AS SHE SAYS, HUH? THIS IS BETWEEN **ME **AND THE **SLAYER BITCH** HERE!"

The Slayer relaxed a little as she heard the sounds of them retreating. No doubt someone was calling the police right now but that was okay. Hopefully they would get here on time to stop any fatalities.

"Alright Warren, you have my attention… why don't you put the gun down now and we'll talk." She held her hands up to show that she was not a threat to him – not yet, anyway. That didn't mean that she wouldn't keep her eyes open for a chance to get the gun off him and knock him to the ground unconscious to stop him.

"**TALK**? YOU TOOK **EVERYTHING **FROM ME! EVERYTHING! NOW **I'M** GOING TO TAKE EVERYTHING FROM **YOU** – SEE HOW YOU LIKE IT!"

Buffy eyed him as he glanced over at the house; not liking what he was insinuating one bit. She needed to keep him focused on her until the police got there. "You lost everything yourself, Warren - you should have known better than to come to come back to this town. What did I ever do to you anyway? That you thought you needed to come here and ruin my life?"

Warren stared at her, looking amazed that she even had to **ask.**

"WHAT DID YOU DO? YOU **RUINED** MY LIFE! EVERYTHING WAS GOING SO WELL AND THEN YOU TOOK IT FROM ME. YOU!"

Warren was definitely getting angrier, more erratic. Still, as long as he focused solely on her, she didn't have to worry that he would hurt anyone else. She noted the way that his finger was twitching on the trigger but she could hear sirens in the distance. She just needed to find a way to calm him down a little…

For the second time in less than ten minutes, her blood ran cold as she registered a hesitant voice speaking from her side.

"W-warren, you j-just need to c-calm down a little, okay? If you p-put down the gun, we can all talk – c-can't we Buffy."

Buffy closed her eyes as dread washed over her. Her voice when she spoke was tinged with desperation. "Warren, ignore her. Just look at me here, okay? Remember all the bad things that I have done to you? Bad Slayer… must pay the price, yada yada."

It was no good though. The insane Warren had switched his attention: "WHAT? YOU THINK THAT **YOU** CAN HELP ME? LAST TIME I CHECKED, YOU WEREN'T MY TYPE. I LIKE MY WOMEN TO BE ABLE TO **TALK **PROPERLY FOR ONE!"

Undaunted, Tara shook her head, trying to reason with or calm down a desperate, crazy man. "U-using that gun i-isn't going to help a-anyone, Warren – least of all you."

Buffy spoke up again, trying to get Warren's attention back on her so that she could shove Tara out of the way or down or something but Warren ignored her, too angry now and currently raging with Tara.

Warren glared at the witch. "FUCK **YOU**, BITCH!"

The sound of the gun going off seemed incredibly loud in Buffy's ears. She could only watch in horror as a red mark appeared on Tara's shirt before she slumped to the ground. "TARA!"

Buffy fell to her knees beside her friend, too shocked to do anything more than try to stop the blood coming out of her body. She certainly didn't register the sound of Warren leaving or the sounds of the others rushing out into the back yard once more, or Willow's agonised scream. She was simply too stunned that it had happened anyway. Tara was dead!

Willow sobbed as she clung to Tara. "Baby please… don't leave me! Don't go!" Realising though, that it was hopeless, Willow lifted her head as if to plead with the heavens themselves, her eyes dark red. Buffy didn't notice any of it.

Willow suddenly stood and left, no word to anyone. The rest of the group were simply in too much shock to stop her.

**eieio**


	26. The More Things Change Pt1

Though it seemed like an eternity since Xander had heard that gunshot it could only have been a matter of seconds. In that time Willow had fled but there was no time to think or worry about his friend - not right then anyway. He looked at Tara's lifeless body as he moved towards were she lay and cursed soundlessly.

He dropped to his knees as he finally made it there after what seemed like a lifetime. "Buffy, I need you to put pressure on that wound," his friend didn't seem to hear him, staring off into the distance still, "BUFFY!"

Hearing Xander's sharp tone, Buffy snapped out of her shock and looked at him, proceeded to do what he said almost on autopilot. "She's dead, Xander."

Xander shook his head as he checked for a pulse and signs of breathing. "She's not dead yet! If we can slow down the blood loss and keep her heart going until the ambulance get here, they could save her." He got down to work.

**eieio**

Buffy, Xander, Anya and Dawn turned as one to look at the doctor as he came into the waiting room. Even though they were all giving him attention, he spoke primarily to Xander. Buffy let it go. "Doctor, can you save Tara?"

The doctor frowned and finally looked around at the group. "At this moment, it's touch and go. She is in surgery now and we are doing all we can for Tara. She has a chance though – be grateful that your friend here was able to administer CPR." He gestured to Xander.

Buffy looked around at the others, feeling at least a small glimmer of hope – it was more than they'd had previously – and finally registered that one of their number were missing. "Where's Willow?"

Dawn looked over at her, worry clearly etched on her face. "She took off after Tara…" She couldn't finish. "…you think she's okay? Where did she go?"

The blonde closed her eyes and cursed under her breath. "I don't know – I need to go look for her. She needs to be here for Tara right now."

Xander looked up. "I'll go with you." He squeezed Anya's hand then leaned closer and kissed his wife's cheek before moving over to stand beside the Slayer. "Let's go, Buff."

Buffy sighed but knew that previously, he had been the only person able to reach their friend – she might need him. "Alright." She looked at Dawn and Anya. "Please call us the minute you hear anything, okay? We'll do the same." She reached into her jacket pocket and passed her purse over to her sister. "Get something from the machines out there to drink if you need to." With a final look at the two women, she left with Xander.

**eieio**

Xander looked over at Buffy as they walked out of the hospital. "You think that they can save Tara?"

Buffy frowned. "I really hope so. I would miss her. A lot. She's a good friend." She shook her head sadly. "I don't even want to **think** about what that would do to Willow. _(It isn't too late to stop this chain of events, is it? There has to be something that we can do!)_

Xander nodded. "She is…" He chewed on his lip. "Fair point – think what she ended up doing when Oz left that time, I mean, you ended up engaged to Spike, how crazy is that?" He chuckled as she threw him a look. "Ever think that's where that craziness all started?"

Buffy eyed him. "I love Spike…"

Xander interrupted her before she could gather any real momentum. "Joke, Buffy. Just trying to lighten the mood a little. Seeing as that didn't work, how about a change of subject instead… Hey! You seem to be walking particularly purposefully. You know where Willow has gone?"

Buffy shrugged and picked up her pace a little having let it slow when she started talking about Spike. She kept her gaze fixed ahead of them in case looking at Xander revealed too much. "I'm thinking she might have gone to the Magic Box?"

Xander frowned as he too was forced to pick up the pace. "Why?"

Buffy stopped, turned and looked at him. "Xander, Willow is a powerful witch who is dealing with magic abuse and now, just as she was starting to heal from that, along comes Warren and shoots Tara. As far as Willow knows, Tara is already dead! So she'll probably search for a spell to bring her back. The thing you used to bring me back is gone but could only be used to bring back someone dead from magic but that doesn't mean that there aren't other spells… failing that, she's probably going to want revenge."

Xander considered that for a moment, nodded and started to walk again. "Magic Box it is, then!" His pace quickly sped to a jog then a full-out run, Buffy keeping pace beside him for a while. Yes, she could outrun him but she still needed time to think – even if they caught Willow in the act of sucking all the spells out of the books, what exactly did she say to her to bring her back down to earth?

As it turned out, it didn't matter – by the time that they got there, the magic had already been taken. "Great."

Xander cast a curious glance over at the Slayer as she lifted empty books up from the pile on the table. "What?"

Buffy winced. "The spells are gone and it can only have been Willow's doing. The next logical stop would be Rack's place… which you can only get to if you're magical."

Xander sighed. "Ah."

Buffy slumped down at the table and tried to think. "Where else would she go? How do we stop her?

The Slayer looked around helplessly, her eyes alighting on the laptop that Anya used to send for more supplies. "Nothing much else we can do now but research." She looked over at Xander. "Call Anya, see if she knows of a way to get to Rack's place. I'll see if I can find something online." She didn't hold out much hope – after all, computers were Willow's thing.

She sighed and sat down at the table after clearing a space, set the laptop down and powered it up. "Here goes nothing…"

**eieio**

Joyce appeared before her in the usual flowing robes that the Slayer had come to expect of her mother. Buffy sighed as the older woman sat down beside her. "I'm dreaming."

"You are." Joyce tilted her head and studied her daughter. "I'm here to tell you that some things just have to happen, dear. There's nothing that anyone can do to change that."

Buffy bit her lip. "Why couldn't I have saved Tara? I should have jumped in front of her, died instead. Why Tara? Again?"

Joyce reached out and patted Buffy's hand. "You need to stop being so hard on yourself - you can't be everywhere, do everything, save everyone… you're not God!" The older woman looked at Buffy and smiled, almost apologetically. "Buffy, you need to realise that – and do remember that I'm your mother and I love you so I say this only for your own good, not to hurt you in any way – the world doesn't revolve around you. I don't mean that in a bad way but the thing is, you're not meant to be the one to fix everything. That's not why you're here."

Buffy took no offence from that but frowned. "Isn't it? I was gone then I was brought back to save the day again and now I'm back in the past, doing it all again. What's the point if everything is just the same."

Joyce laughed softly. "It's not the same, Buffy. This time, you didn't nearly die: Xander didn't have to save you this time, this time, he got a chance to try and save Tara. Isn't that better? Besides, Tara isn't dead yet…"

**eieio**

Buffy sat up with a jolt and looked around the shop, at Xander who had set a cup down in front of her. "I'm thinking you need some caffeine right now. I guess the shock of everything took it out of all of us."

Buffy lifted the cup, the heat seeping into cold fingers. "How long was I asleep?"

Xander shook his head. "About five minutes. I rang Anya and she said that she can probably find Rack's place for us – or at least call Halfrek to do it."

The Slayer sighed and shook her head as she realised that it didn't matter – time was against them. "It'll already be too late." She could at least save her friend the sight of what Willow had done to Rack – not that she could bring herself to care about that waste of space either but still... Cup still in hand, she banged her head on the table. "Can you do me a favour and call Giles? If he hasn't already left to come here, fill him in on everything, tell him to contact the Coven. I need to get some fresh air."

Xander wondered exactly what that was about but decided to go with simply repeating what she'd said to Giles if or when he answered. "Alright." He watched his friend head out the back then moved back to the telephone.

Buffy stepped outside and headed for a shady area to sit down: the sun that had seemed so wonderful only a short while before now seemed like an enemy somehow. She dropped her head into her hands after sitting down heavily on a crate. "So much for making things better!"

"Want to talk about it, love?"

Buffy's head shot up and she found herself staring straight at her much-missed vampire lover. "Spike!" She didn't take time to think, just stood and launched herself into his arms and hugged him. "You're back!"

Spike found his eyes closing as he wrapped his arms around her. "I am." He pulled back to look at her. "What happened? What's wrong?"

Buffy sniffed and shook her head. "Warren went crazy and shot Tara. Willow has gone and is out for revenge – she thinks that Tara is dead but Xander kept her heart beating with some CPR and I managed to slow the blood flowing out of her body until the ambulance got there so she's in the operating theatre right now. She **might** die but then again, she might **not**. She shrugged helplessly.

"I need to find Willow before she carries out her revenge and kills Warren but I don't know where to start – she's already cleared out all the magic from the Magic Shop… and yes, I do mean all of it – and I know that she'll be heading to Rack next and I should go there but even if we could find it, it'd be too late. I don't know where else to go other than the fact that I do know where she'll take Warren."

Spike took a moment to let that all sink in then nodded once. "Right then. Well, seems like we'll just have to be waiting when she takes Warren wherever it is and hopefully we'll be able to talk some sense into her."

Buffy winced. "That's not exactly going to be easy – there was a **lot** of magic in the shop – plus the magic from Rack himself which will be tainted. This isn't the Willow that most of us know and love. This is… dark Willow," she sighed, "however, without any other possibilities open to us, I guess it's the only option. I'll go get Xander."

Spike raised a brow. "You really think that Xander is the best person to have around?"

Buffy frowned. "He's the only non-magical or mystical being amongst us. He can reach her when none of the rest of us can," she looked around helplessly, "every other single one of us – and that includes you – has magic in us. That makes us a power source for Willow at present. All of us except Xander."

Spike sighed and pulled out a cigarette and his lighter and lit up. "At least it's nearly night time. Wouldn't be too much use to you in the day time, soul or not." He nodded. "Best go get Xander, pet. By the time you gather up your stuff and I have my smoke, the sun will be down and we can go."

**eieio**

So here they stood, in the clearing where Buffy knew that Willow would turn up, waiting and hoping that they could stop her – not for Warren's sake but for Willow's.

"You sure this is the right place, pet?"

Xander turned to look at Buffy then too, wondering just how she could be so sure.

Buffy sighed, realising that she needed to give them something – anything – that would be believable. "I saw this place in my dream back in the Magic Shop. It was here, clear as day."

Xander frowned. "But it's night here, Buffy…"

Buffy sighed. "It's just an expression Xander, but I get your point… Look, this is the only lead I have. If you think that you can do better, then by all means. I mean, we could use a locator spell – except that we're trying to find one of the people who usually does the spells while the other lies in the hospital."

Xander sighed and settled back down in his makeshift seat. "Point."

It was another hour before they saw the telltale signs of Willow's presence appearing in the forest. Buffy stopped them going after her though. "It's too dark and we'll get separated. If we're to have any chance of finding her, we need to stay together. We wait!"

**eieio**

Warren was more than a little angry - and yes, terrified – as he made his way through the forest. Here he was, on the run – not from the Slayer this time but from her witchy bitch friend who was after revenge for him killing her girlfriend? It wasn't meant to be this way, was it? He should have made sure that he killed the Slayer – that way they would have all been too freaked out at losing two friends to come after him - but at the time, the shot he'd fired at Tara had freaked him out. He had been psyched up to use that gun on Buffy and then the other one had gotten in his way and messed everything up.

Good thing he'd gotten a heads up from the demons and knew she was after him. A quick stop with Rack had ensured that he was powered up and ready to go, ready to face whatever that bitch had to throw at him! He grinned. The bitch didn't stand a chance against him!

**eieio**

Willow followed the map that she had created from her blood-spattered top – Tara's blood: the thought only fuelled her rage - which clearly showed Warren's trail. Ah magic truly was a wonderful and useful tool! She was closing in on him. Soon he would know what it was like to suffer and die! She gasped and fell to the ground suddenly, an axe clearly lodged in her back.

Warren stared down at the dead woman and laughed. "Hah! You think you get to beat **me**?" His eyes widened however as Willow's arm reached behind her and pulled out the axe, her wound healing quickly.

The woman stood and turned to look at him. "Is that really the best you got?" She shook her head and threw the axe at him. He was just about able to dodge it, winced a little as he felt it glance across his cheek.

Warren ran, throwing out as many spells and implements as he had to try and thwart her. Nothing worked.

Finally, he found himself in the clearing close to Buffy, Xander and Spike.

Willow stalked up to him and he felt fear. She shook her head. "You are going to die." With a wave of her hand, vines appeared and wrapped around his wrists and ankles and trapped him securely in midair between two trees.

Warren glared at her. "You won't get away with this! I will kill you! I will kill you and what's more, I'll get away with it – I have **good** legal representation."

Willow studied him. "Like Katrina? You won't get away with it you know," she shook her head slowly, "No. This time **you** die – and this time, you're going to HELL!" She clicked her fingers and all of Warren's clothes aside from his underwear – there were some things that even a dark, furious Willow didn't wish to witness - disappeared.

"Ever wonder what a death of a thousand cuts would feel like, Warren?" For a moment Warren's screams were all that could be heard in the forest as with a gesture of her hand, Willow sliced into every part of his exposed skin. Blood started to ooze from what seemed like every part of his body. "Shame for you, that was only nine hundred and ninety nine cuts – you'll live." The sorceress smirked evilly at him, "For now."


	27. The More Things Change Pt2

Buffy stared at the scene before her and cursed. "We should definitely stop her before she does something she'll really regret." She winced as Warren's screams were stopped suddenly – signalling that Willow had sewn his lips together to shut him up. She cast her glance at the two men with her. "Xander, stay here for now... Spike, with me!" She stood and headed to the clearing, Spike a step behind her and slightly to her left.

Willow sighed a little as she heard the sound of a branch snapping underfoot. "Let me guess…" She looked at Warren. "Your Knight in White Armour is here to save you?" She turned and looked at Buffy. "Aaand there she is!"

The dark haired sorceress shook her head. "Are you really going to stop me taking him out after everything he has done, Buffy? Really? I thought you were a protector of the innocent."

Buffy sighed. "I don't really like it any more than you do, Willow. He's not exactly the usual type I save but what else can I do? You really think I can let you kill him? It's not your right! We have laws…"

Willow interrupted with a growl and finished the Slayer's sentence. "…that clearly don't work! You put him away, he got out and he came back to kill you. Only he didn't, did he? He killed Tara. **HE KILLED TARA!**"

Buffy winced at the loudness of her friend's scream, couldn't help but take a step back. "Willow, even if that is true, it doesn't make this right."

Willow rolled her eyes and with a flick of her hand shattered the bones in Warren's right leg. "An eye for an eye..." She smirked as she heard Warren's muffled screams.

Spike moved forward then. "This isn't an eye for an eye though, is it Red… or black. Whatever. You're torturing him."

Willow tilted her head to the side and studied him. "Oh look at you – went out and got yourself a nice, new shiny soul. Good for you. Won't save you – she can't love you. You're beneath her."

Buffy's eyes narrowed as she looked at her friend. "Of course I love him! Even if I didn't, it would be nothing to do with this conversation."

"Oh is that what this is?" Willow fell silent for a moment as she seemed to consider that but took the moment to shatter Warren's other knee. "Don'tcha just love that sound?"

Buffy eyed her friend. "Stop it, Willow!"

Willow smirked. "Make me!"

Buffy sighed. "So you want to fight me?" She reeled backwards as she felt the full force of a blow from the sorceress.

Willow. "See, this is your problem, Buffy - always with the talking when you should be fighting." She lunged for her again but this time Buffy managed to dodge. Just.

"Not much of a Slayer, are you Buffy? All those years I looked up to you and you're nothing. I mean, really nothing. I could snuff out your existence in the blink of an eye – Dawn too. And definitely Spike's." She barely flinched as Buffy's fist connected with her face. "Ooh, tickles."

She shrugged carelessly, a smirk playing across her lips. "I think I'll start with Spike."

Spike's eyes widened as he saw the extra malice in Willow's eyes. "Oh crap." He didn't even have time to run or move or hide. With the simple gesture of Willow raising her arms, Spike found himself surrounded completely by thousands of all rather deadly looking forest-made spikes.

Buffy froze. **"NO!"**

Willow smirked. "Now you know what it feels like, hmm? One small twitch of my finger," the sorceress twitched her finger and the branches on one side of the vampire moved forward just enough to be noticed, "and your lover dies." She growled. "It's a horrible thought, isn't it?

Willow levitated over in Spike's direction. "So Spike… what side do you want to die from, hmm? I could get you from the back – that'd mean that you could look upon your lover in your last milliseconds of life…"

Xander stood up then and moved forward. He couldn't just sit there and do nothing after all, could he?

Willow turned her attention from the vampire as she heard Xander enter the small clearing. "What are you doing here, Xander?" She snorted. "Don't tell me that **you** of all people are going to try and stop me!"

Xander shrugged helplessly. "Y'know, given that I'm actually trying to stop you doing something like trying to kill either Spike or the bastard Warren, I'd far rather be at home, curled up in front of the fire, watching a movie with Anya but that's not really possible. Not right now because Anya's in the hospital. Sitting in a hospital room – even if it is with my wife - and waiting for news on a friend isn't really so appealing somehow."

Willow blinked, confused. "He hurt Anya too?" She turned to glare at Buffy. "He killed Tara and he hurt Anya and you're **still** trying to stop me?!" Buffy suddenly found herself trussed up in much the same fashion as Warren – fortunately without any of the sewed up lips, cuts or other injuries.

Before Buffy could speak, Xander drew Willow's attention once more. "Y'know, given that you've gone all scary and veiny and are clearly insane, I considered dropping an anvil on your head – might get you to cool down a little. At least long enough to listen."

Willow glared at him. "You dare to joke about this?"

Xander shrugged. "That's pretty much what we always do, isn't it? Facing death, let's make light of it. Friend has switched allegiance to the dark side, well that's crap an' all but let's make a joke of it anyway…"

Willow screamed loudly again, making Xander flinch and cover her ears. "TARA IS DEAD!"

Xander took a moment, blinking hard as he tried to clear his brain. "Not yet, actually."

Willow had turned her attention to Warren again as she was reminded of just why she was there but stopped as Xander's words registered. "What?" She turned to look at him.

Xander sighed. "I said that she's not dead. Not yet."

Willow glared and with the sweep of her hand in the air, he felt the impact of a hard slap on his face. "Don't you **dare** lie to me, Harris! I saw her die. She's **DEAD!**"

Xander held a hand to the side of his face, trying to ignore the sheer pain of the hard, magical slap. "I'm not lying. She's not dead. Not yet. There's a little thing called CPR… we kept her alive until the ambulance got there… she's in surgery right now."

Willow seemed to flounder then. "No, I held her… she was dead…"

Xander looked at her for a moment. "I kept her heart going, Buffy stemmed the blood flow… maybe you with all your magic and scary veinyness could actually save her, hmm?"

Willow looked confused and conflicted. What to do? She knew that Tara was dead… wasn't she? But… what if she wasn't? What if Xander was right? She ran through the many spells in her mind and found something then turned her attention back to Xander. "This isn't over!"

Xander cursed as he found himself trussed up just the same as Buffy. "Well, crap."

Spike snorted. "Suck it up, runt – at least you're not trapped in a cage of death." The spikes remained even when Willow disappeared into thin air. He reached out warily and touched the end of one of the branches and tried to push it down but to no avail – in fact, all it did was cause the others to shift a little too. Best to just stand very, very still… and hope!

**eieio**

As Willow levitated into the hospital, the lights flickered and the ground shook. People fled from her as they saw her coming. Many screamed. The sorceress didn't hear or notice anything around her – her only goal was to find out if Xander was telling her the truth.

**eieio**

Buffy worked furiously on the vines trapping her but every time that she managed to get one loose, another appeared to take its place. "Spike, Xander… don't worry, we'll be fine." Her lips set into a narrow, straight line. "We have to be!" She hadn't come this far to lose at such a ridiculous point after all.

Xander snorted. "As long as the doctors kept Tara alive, right?"

Buffy shuddered. "Don't even **think** that, Xander. She's still alive. She has to be!" She cast a worried glance over to Spike. "She'll be fine."

**eieio**

As the lights flickered, Dawn whimpered. "Oh God! What's going on, Anya? The lights can't go out now! What if Tara… what if she…"

Anya reached over and patted her shoulder. "Don't worry Dawn. She'll be fine, the lights flickered again. "Um… we should go see, right?" She headed for the door but stopped as the sight of a dark and veiny Willow levitated past them. "Oh!" Anya's mouth fell open.

Dawn stared. "What happened to Willow? What did she **do**..?"

**eieio**

Willow didn't even register that the two other women followed the sorceress. She was focused entirely on getting to Tara. It seemed that Xander might not have been lying to her after all – her body wasn't in the morgue. That was fortunate for him.

As Willow got to Tara's room, the lights and electric cut out altogether. Those working on Tara were panicking given that they were so busy dealing with her delicate surgery but one by one, they caught sight of Willow standing there. "Get. Out!"

The physicians were too afraid to even consider arguing. They fled, nearly knocking over Anya and Dawn in their haste to escape.

Willow stared down at Tara's almost lifeless body for a moment. "Lucky Xander."

Anya blinked and looked over at Dawn with wide eyes and whispered: "Why is Xander lucky?"

Dawn hushed her and whispered back. "I really don't think it's wise to catch Willow's attention right now."

They watched as Willow muttered some sort of incantation over her lover's body. Dawn's eyes widened in amazement as the bullet pulled from Tara's body and the skin started to heal. "Holy crap."

Anya shrugged carelessly. "Not really that impressive – she's a high level witch so this sort of showy, bringing someone back from the dead trick, isn't really that big a deal. Surprised it wasn't even more showy, actually."

As Willow's gaze flickered over to them, Dawn covered Anya's mouth with her hand to shut her up. Willow went back to healing Tara.

**eieio**

Tara opened her eyes and blinked a few times, her brain befuddled. "…Willow? What… happened?"

Willow crumpled. "Tara…?" The anger seemed to melt away along with the dark colour in her hair. "Oh my God, Tara…" Willow started to cry as she sagged against the bed and clung to her girlfriend. "You're alive!"

**eieio**

As the magic slipped away from Willow, the twigs and branches surrounding Spike dropped harmlessly to the ground. Spike sighed with relief and turned to look at the other three. Buffy and Xander were freed suddenly: Buffy landed easily on her feet, Xander stumbled a little. Warren cried out as he was dropped to the ground, landing on his shattered knees and falling, the dirt of the ground seeping into the many cuts on his body.

Spike rolled his eyes, walked over and kicked him in the side. "Shut it, you're lucky you're alive right now. Be grateful for that."

Buffy looked over at Spike but couldn't even be bothered to reproach him. She grinned widely. "Tara must be okay – Willow saved her." She looked over at Xander. "And you saved Willow!" She hugged her best friend. "Let's go see her."

Xander grinned and hugged her back. "I think that sounds like a plan to me… what about Warren?"

Buffy looked at the evil man. She was tempted to just leave him there but she sighed. "I suppose we can drop him off at the hospital or something. Police station maybe?"

**eieio**

Following the pull of strong magic, Giles headed from the airport to the hospital, arriving just in time to see Willow laying on the bed clinging to a still puzzled-looking Tara and crying. "Ah. I arrived too late, it seems." _(Yet again, I am unneeded.) _

The ex-watcher turned to look as he felt someone patting his shoulder. "Oh. Anya."

Anya smiled consolingly at Giles. "Don't worry, Giles. Everything is under control – Tara nearly died but first my husband together with Buffy, and then Willow saved her." She stopped and pulled out her phone and dialled her husband. "Xander! Xander, are you okay?" She listened and nodded for a few moments, ended the call and looked at Giles once more with a big smile on her face. "They are all okay. Currently, Spike is carrying Warren but they haven't decided whether to drop him off at the police station or the hospital but he is alive…"

Giles sagged a little, realising that apart from Spike and Anya, he was still the only one to have killed a fellow human being. Another part of him felt relieved but it was a huge burden to bear sometimes.

He brightened a little as Anya told him that Willow had so much magic in her system now – she would need to go with him to England, to spend time with the Coven and learn how to control it all. He could be useful for that, at least – he would take Willow and Tara with him. That was the least he could do.


	28. Making It Clear

Buffy had thought that this time around, things would be different and sure, in some ways they had been: Anya for instance, hadn't become a Vengeance Demon again – thereby wreaking havoc and that incidentally meant that Halfrek was also still in existence as she hadn't had die for what d'Hoffryn deemed to be Anya's mistake when she took back that wish.

Tara's **life **too had been saved and that was brilliant but... when Willow returned to Sunnydale from England, where she had been working with the Coven to understand and get control of her powers, the redhead had still managed to make herself invisible to them and end up in the clutches of a monster who wanted to shave off her skin and eat her.

They had found Willow of course and Buffy had been able to lend her friend some of her power to heal – it had actually been that moment originally that had come to the Slayer when she had been looking for a way to beat the First. Sharing power… Willow had been able to tap into it then, tapping into the Scythe's power seemed logical. Unfortunately, it was also probably that moment that gave Willow the idea to tap into Kennedy's power when she needed more power to bring Buffy back from the dimension where she was meant to learn of her origins.

Still, even then, they had gotten past it. Who knew if they would get together this time around – or if Willow would even notice her now that Tara was still alive? She felt a little sorry for Kennedy but her happiness at having Tara around still far outweighed her sadness.

What Buffy found strange though was that Willow had been able to face Tara after killing Rack but was worried about facing the rest of the gang. Would her subconscious still have managed to make her invisible if Tara had been at her side when she returned to America? Or would she have been okay? There was of course, no way to know for sure. Then again, did it even matter? Point was that Tara had left England ahead of Willow to fly to her father's side after he had been knocked down by a drunk driver.

Her family gave scant detail other than to say that it was serious – Mister McClay was on his deathbed... Or so Tara's cousin claimed.

Willow had of course, wanted to go with her girlfriend but Tara had refused: Willow still had work to do with the Coven. Plus, she wasn't sure that she would be welcome. It would be better if she went on her own. Of course, that hadn't happened either – Buffy and Dawn had gone with her. Thankfully.

Turned out that all that was wrong with her father was a broken leg. Bad, obviously in its own right but they had tried to pile the blame on Tara, said it was her fault that he wasn't looking where he was going when crossing the street. Therefore, it was Tara's **duty **to look after him.

Even the drunk driver story had been a lie! Buffy had been ready to raise hell but Tara surprised her by standing up for herself and telling them she was going back, that he would be just fine - of course her friend put it better than that but that was the gist.

So Buffy, Tara and Dawn packed up and headed back to Sunnydale the very next day after arriving at Tara's home, ignoring steam coming out of her family members' ears.

Sunnydale High, of course, was still infected with everything going thanks to being located over the Hellmouth - she had again saved Dawn and her two friends from some vengeful ghosts that were there because of a talisman in the bathroom, Spike had once again disappeared and of course, he had decided to live in the school's basement... She would deal with him later though - first... Principal Wood.

She glared at the broken talisman in her hand, knocked on his door and entered when he gave permission. She sat down without waiting for his invitation and set the broken talisman down on his table. She watched as he gave it a passing glance before turning a bemused look on her.

"So... you're thinking of offering me a fluffy job here as a counsellor. It's not that you think I'm really qualified but that you want to keep the Slayer close - given that you're the son of a Slayer, I understand. You should know though, that I am in a relationship with the vampire who killed your mother, which is tragic and all, but before you get on your high horse, he has a soul and has been helping us for years. If you so much as harm a hair on his head, I will kill you." She shrugged. "There's something big coming - the First Evil. We need every ally we can get here and Spike is absolutely essential."

With that said she leaned back in her chair and looked at him. "Questions?" Hmm, she probably could have put that more delicately - it seemed that dodging him immediately after taking out those ghosts hadn't actually given her the time she needed to think of a gentle way to put this to Robin... Ah well - he was going to end up with Faith soon enough, so it was probably a good idea that he learned that not all Slayers were sweet and gentle as he probably remembered his mother being.

Robin stared at her as he tried to process everything. "How did you know..?"

Buffy shrugged. "Slayer dreams - very informative." She shifted on her seat and looked at him. "As to Spike, I meant what I said. I'm sure that it kills you that your mother wasn't around as you grew up. Believe me, I know how much it sucks to lose your mom – I might have been older than you were then but I had to take on the responsibility of a house and trying to bring up Dawn and finding a job..."

Buffy sighed and ran her fingers through her hair. "Your mother was a Slayer - the only one in all the world... unfortunately. It's a crappy job and it's hard and there's never any let up. I've been lucky – I have friends who know what I do and who are also willing and able to help. Your Mom wasn't so lucky - if it hadn't been Spike, it would have been another vampire or demon that killed her. I'm not making excuses. It's just a fact. The first time I died, it was a vampire. Second time, I jumped into a portal and died - a portal that an actual GOD wanted to open but she was too busy at the time so actually, just a lousy demon. Who knows what will kill me next – doesn't matter. Only thing that counts right now is that I **will** die doing this job. I knew that from the first moment I took that on – just as your mom did. She kept **you **safe for as long as she could."

The woman shifted around a little on the very uncomfortable seat. "It's a tough job – really badly paid – or y'know, not paid at all. I mean that the money I get to live on comes from the crappy jobs I can find to work around my Slaying - but who else is going to do it? I'm lucky to have friends who help me… I'm also unique. The first Slayer to actually retain friends… never mind actually have them fighting at my side!"

The blonde took a deep breath and let it out on a weary sigh. "Look, the point is that there are currently only two Slayers alive in the world - Faith is locked up in prison for murder – an **accidental **murder - but you'll meet her soon enough," she smiled wryly, "I've sent someone to fill her in on the situation."

"Even with me, Faith, the Potentials and access to a lot of magic courtesy of my friends and a Coven, it's not going to be anywhere near enough. The First has a nice little army of Uber-vamps." She rolled her eyes. "Well, when I say little, I mean really huge - thousands upon thousands. All waiting for their moment in the sun, er, you know what I mean." She waved her hands about for a moment.

"Anyway…" She brushed her hair out of her face. "Being a son of a Slayer, I'm sure that you've dealt with the Watchers' Council and given how much trouble I've had, I'm guessing you're probably just as enamoured as I am with them. Still, I live in hope that they can work with me, with the Potentials and actually help to fight the fight - or at least train the Potentials to fight the fight - and we can win this. They were really very lucky – they all got out of that building just before the bomb placed by The First's minions went off. They're each currently being guarded by and training a Slayer or two apiece. Shame their records were lost but we can't have everything, can we?"

She smiled. "You'd think I hadn't talked in years here, what with me blabbering on... Look, whether or not you decide I should get the job, I need you to keep an eye on the Seal down in the basement - the First is going to want access because it'll probably soon send someone to give their blood to open it up. Let me know soon okay? About the job, the Seal, anything… weird… er. Weirder!"

She tapped the broken Talisman, stood up and walked out without another word or glance in his direction. Robin sat at his desk doing his best goldfish impression.

Buffy stood outside his office for a moment, back to his door. "I think that went rather well." She grinned and headed down to the basement.

**eieio**

Spike stared at Buffy. "You shouldn't be here, lamb - not safe."

Buffy looked at him and sighed softly. "Come on Spike." She held her hand out for him to take. "You've been here long enough."

Spike looked confusedly at it and her, but after a moment's thought, he put his hand in hers as she seemed to want him to. "Oh. You're... really here."

She smiled at him, tugged on his hand, motioning for him to follow, which of course he did.

**eieio**

As she walked into her home with him, she noted that Willow and Tara were sitting together, talking quietly in the front room. They looked up and smiled at the two but went back to their hushed conversation.

Buffy chewed on her lip, deep in thought as she led Spike down to the basement. She walked over to a cupboard and, after a few minutes of searching, found what she was looking for - manacles.

Spike raised a brow as she advanced on him. "Thought we were done with sex..."

Buffy snorted with amusement. "They're not for sex. Sorry." She reached for his hand, stroked the skin around his wrist then put one of the cuffs around it before attaching the other to the wall.

Once she was sure that her lover was secure, Buffy left the room. She came back ten minutes later with a foldout bed and blankets.

The woman gestured for him to move out of the way as she set the bed up and put the clothes on quickly before gesturing for him to sit down.

The woman sat down beside him. "Okay, here's the deal - the First is back. That won't mean that much to you, I imagine... The last time it was here, it tried to convince Angel to kill himself."

Spike sighed. "Does it always have to be about the big poofter?"

The young woman eyed him. "Spike, please stop interrupting!" She smiled soothingly and stroked his jaw to stop him taking offence at her slightly sharp tone. "This is nothing to do with him whatsoever, I promise. This is to do with you - you've been seeing things - or people... Um dead people?" She sagged a little, "dead...whatever you want to call them!" She made a frustrated sound. "You saw another version of me, right? Drusilla too?"

Spike looked at her and nodded. "You're right – what you said earlier to me is right - the world would be better off without me. I wish I had the guts to end it like you said but I don't."

The woman glared fiercely at him. "Would you **stop** that? The world would in no way be better off without you! Do you hear me? Dammit Spike, I don't want a world without you! If I ever **hear **you talking like that again, I will kick your ass from here to eternity!"

Buffy realised that she was losing control and that this conversation required her to be calm and rational. The blonde closed her eyes and took deep breaths until she felt calm again.

"The point I was **trying **to make here is that you are chained up for a reason that is connected to the First - it planted something in your brain. A song…"

The woman tried to remember what Xander had said but the name eluded her. "I forget what it's called but basically when you hear it, you're programmed to react in a certain way." A grimace marred her pretty features. "In this case, you hear it and go on a rampage, turning people into vampires."

Spike frowned. He was a Sleeper? How had that happened?

Well, that was a bit of a stupid question really - time had gone all skewy for the last month or so... Coincidentally since he'd moved into the school. Was there really such a thing as coincidence when you lived this close to the Hellmouth? "All right. What's the song and how do I make this problem go away?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "It drags a memory up that you need to live through again. It's... **sleeper** that's the word!"

She grinned triumphantly for a moment but sighed as she realised it wasn't really that important and given the situation, a little inappropriate to be so happy at remembering. She sighed again - there was nothing else for it. She would have to sing:

"Early one morning

Just as the sun was rising

I heard a maiden singing

In the valley below

Oh don't deceive me

Oh never leave me

How can you use

A poor maiden so..."

As Buffy continued to sing the rest of the song that Spike had taught her after that incident (to prove that he was truly okay) she watched on almost impassively as her lover's vamp face emerged.

A huge part of her hurt to see him in such obvious distress but she kept on singing - this was something he had to go through.

**eieio**

Spike lay down on the bed later – much later. He was currently using Buffy's lap as a pillow and she was idly running her fingers through his hair as he stared up at her. It felt wonderful.

"It was both the absolute worst and best thing that I could've done – turning my Mum into a vampire," he lifted a hand up and scrubbed at his jaw, "it was best because she only really had me. I… She would have been lost without me."

He looked up at the woman he loved, a frown marring his features. "It's not like it is now – women didn't work – so much more free time then than now. She also used what little money she had to try and help secure me a good wife. More times than enough, I tried to get her to spend it on herself but she was having none of it."

"When it came to friends, she had a couple from Church but, there was mostly me. When I suggested she made more, she said that she had all she needed – until I married and she was so sure that she would become fast friends with my wife. When I started talking about Cecily, Mum was practically as enamoured as I was." He snorted and shook his head. "We both got that one wrong."

Spike reached up and placed his hand over Buffy's hand and idly traced patterns on it as he spoke. Buffy smiled a little at the tickling sensation but didn't interrupt, as he clearly needed to get this out.

"It was the worst clearly because… How did I ever think that was gonna work?" He grinned suddenly. "Should've seen Dru's face when I introduced them and said she'd be travelling with us – priceless."

Spike sobered immediately. "Staking my Mum was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do. The devastation I felt was right along with the moment I realised that I wasn't going to be able to save Dawn from Doc," he shook his head, "but it wasn't her. Not really - just her shell. My Mum would never've tried to hurt me like that. She loved me Buffy. Completely. Crap poetry and all."

Buffy smiled down at him. "Of course she did." Her head lowered and she placed a kiss on his forehead. "Why wouldn't she?"

Spike sighed and closed his eyes. "I think she is the reason I am able to love – even as a vampire. She loved me so well it was bound to carry through to this life, really."

"Buffy smiled. "Your Mom was an amazing woman, Spike. I don't doubt that she and my Mom would have been friends – maybe even are right now."

**eieio**

Disclaimer: The song "Early One Morning is not mine, obviously. It is an old English song that is only here because it was used in BtVS.


	29. Moving On

In an echo of the scene a few weeks back, Buffy sat in front of the desk in Principal Wood's office and looked over at him. "I have to admit that I'm more than a little surprised that you decided to offer me the job given all that I have told you."

Robin shrugged. "I don't deny that it's a lot to process and I'll be honest – the whole 'Spike' thing sits badly with me - I hate him for what he did to my mom and to me but there's something about you that reminds me of her and I'm hardwired to listen to you I guess. I'll leave him alone but I promise you that if he makes so much as one single reference to my mother – good or bad…" He left the rest unsaid and just shrugged. "Anyway, you're right – this isn't going to be fun. From beneath you, it devours, right?"

Buffy wrinkled her nose. "Oh yeah. The Hellmouth has nice sharp teeth and it's about to start biting. Our job – all of us – is to make sure it isn't very effective. Save the World or Die Trying is more or less our motto." She smirked a little as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Heck, in the past, I've even saved the world **by** dying."

Robin studied her as she spoke those words but shrugged it off. He had of course learned all he could about her before making his way to Sunnydale so he knew that she had died twice already but her flippancy bewildered and disturbed him a little. He hoped that she wouldn't be so relaxed if something was to happen to him whilst out killing vampires!

"Anyway, yes, I am offering you the job. Bear in mind though, this might be my way of keeping an eye on one of apparently two current Slayers and help out if and when I can but that doesn't mean that you get to sleepwalk through it – you still have to try and help these kids, Buffy."

Buffy met his eyes steadily and nodded. "I'll do my best." She paused, trying to think how best to word her next request. "There's a girl – Cassie. I can't remember her name but she's blonde and sweet and writes a lot of morbid stuff. She's important but she has an inherited heart defect that will kill her soon if it's not treated. Can you make it happen that she gets to the hospital for treatment?"

Robin considered the young woman. "If you've been dreaming about her, I'm guessing that she is as important as you say. I will do what I can to get Cassie the help that she needs. If her parents can't afford to get her the treatment required, then I certainly have enough to do that for her."

Buffy smiled and shook her head. "They're all important, Robin. Every single soul matters." The blonde gestured to a notepad sitting on the desk. "Do you want me to write down what I know about Cassie?"

The principal shook his head. "No, it's okay - I know Cassie. She's a sweet girl though, as you say... Morbid." He frowned. "Wonder if she would be different if she grew up elsewhere."

Buffy snorted. "We'd all be different if we came from other places."

Robin nodded. "Fair point - and about the souls. They all matter. Of course they do. Even Him, I guess."

Buffy nodded. "Yes, Spike matters too."

**eieio**

Buffy got home early on Friday afternoon - you really couldn't underestimate how good it felt not to have to go to the Double Meat Palace any more. The smell that had lingered no matter what shower gel, perfume or deodorant she used was completely gone after working at the school for a week and it was Heaven. She smiled a little as she sniffed her hair and smelled only the loveliness of her new conditioner.

The blonde shrugged out of her jacket and hung it up on the stand by the door then called a greeting to see if anyone other than Spike was there. Tara answered so Buffy headed into the living room where her friend's voice had come from and saw her curled up on the sofa.

Buffy smiled and sat down beside her friend. "Hey Tara, all on your own? Where's Willow?"

Tara stretched and set aside the book she had been reading. "She and Giles went for coffee and a chat." The quiet woman wrinkled her nose. "Well, Willow went for coffee. Giles said he would try the tea - they're going to that new shop."

Buffy winced a little. (_Bad idea coming to Sunnydale and starting a new business right now. Hope they can claim it back on the insurance.) _"It never ceases to amaze me how many foolishly optimistic people come here to set up businesses. Hope they do a nice latte. It'd be good to have somewhere else to go for coffee next time we go for a shoe fix."

Tara smiled and nodded. "It would certainly be a nice change of scenery." She frowned and looked at Buffy. "This latest threat to hit Sunnydale… is it worse than what we've experienced previously?"

Buffy shrugged. "They're always bad but yeah, this one is not going to be fun. Demons are already starting to clear out and it hasn't even begun yet. Hardly a whimper in fact." She sighed and considered it for a moment. "I know what's coming – it's the First Evil. Again. It was here once before, wanted to take Angel out of the picture because he was going to be a major force for good. This time, it's going after the Slayer line – it wants to remove all the Potentials first, then Faith... and finally me."

Tara frowned. "Can we stop it?"

Buffy nodded. "Eventually. We always do, right? One way or another." She grimaced a little as she remembered a few years ago having to jump to her death to stop different realities bleeding into their world. "Hopefully no one will die this time – I will do everything in my power to keep everyone safe."

Tara considered her. "You seem very calm. Have you got a plan already."

Buffy smiled a little. "I have **something**. Anyway, let's not worry about it just yet, okay? How're you doing? I know you said you were going to ring your Dad at the start of each week to see how he's getting on…"

Tara grimaced. "Yeah, I rang him just a couple of hours ago. Same old, same old, you know? He tried to guilt me into coming home, told me that I was a horrible, evil daughter." She shrugged nonchalantly but Buffy could see the pain this caused her, reached over and gave her friend a hug.

"You are nowhere **near** a bad daughter, Tara. Despite everything he's done to you, you still went to him when he needed you. The fact that you didn't stick around lies entirely with him. A good parent gives their child the strength to stand on their own two feet, doesn't try to keep them down the way that he does. You're one of the most decent people I know and don't ever forget that fact!"

Tara smiled, grateful for the kind words. "Thank you."

**eieio**

Giles took a sip of the tea he had purchased and grimaced at the taste of it. He set it back down on the table and sighed. "Why is it so impossible to get a decent cup of tea in Sunnydale?"

Willow shrugged. "Perhaps it's a side-effect of the hellmouth?" She smiled faintly and even got an answering smile from the Watcher as he eyed the scone sitting in front of him before deciding to give it a miss in case it tasted just as bad. He turned his gaze to the young woman. "How are you doing now that you have been back for a while, Willow?"

Willow fidgeted a little and stared down into the depths of her coffee cup. "I'm alright I guess. It's a little terrifying what with this Big Bad starting to make its presence known. I'm also kinda terrified of using my magic 'cause I don't want to go all Goth again but there's not going to be a choice, is there?"

She frowned and fixed her worried gaze on her older friend. Her voice when she spoke was low to ensure that no one overheard her next words. "How do you deal with it - the knowledge that you killed another human being? Even though it wasn't a particularly worthy one, it was still a human soul. It wasn't my right to stop Rack's existence. So how do **you** deal with it, Giles?"

Giles looked startled as he realised that the woman's question wasn't purely rhetorical. "You know?"

"About Ben? Yes, I overheard a conversation between you and Anthea when you first brought me to the Coven - I am not blaming you or casting judgement. I am just asking a friend for help in dealing with it."

She took a sip of her coffee. "I tried to ask Anya but she doesn't really get it - her vengeance stuff feels like another lifetime to her now. As a demon, she didn't have the guilt. I guess now that she's human, she doesn't feel the full effect the way that Angel did when he regained his soul. I could always talk to Angel or Faith, but Faith isn't exactly well balanced anyway. I know that she feels guilt over what she did to the Mayor's assistant and the rest but I doubt she and I would deal with it in the same way anyway. I don't think I could stomach talking to Angel about his guilt and the many ways in which he **isn't** coping."

Giles held a hand up to stop her talking. "I get it, Willow. It's fine." He sagged a little as he let out a long breath. He was relieved that at least Willow didn't try to push the issue, letting him gather his thoughts.

"You get on with it, day to day. I made the hard choice because I knew that Glory had to be stopped. Buffy doesn't have it in her to kill anyone and I wouldn't put that on her. I knew however, that when Ben recovered well enough, Glory would re-emerge to make Buffy's life – and probably that of every human on this planet - a living hell."

He straightened in his chair and looked around the room, surprised that what looked to be so many light conversations could be going on around them when he had to have such a grave one.

"I don't imagine that the guilt will ever leave me. Right until the last moment, Ben had been a good and worthwhile man. It was only at the very end that he lost it and was willing to sacrifice Dawn. The fear of his own death did what it has done to so many and saw him bargaining what he could in order to live longer. Glory though, was such a threat to Buffy - to **humanity** itself - that I honestly couldn't see another way."

He frowned and looked straight at Willow once more. "Whatever happens, I stand by my decision." Silence descended for a few moments as Willow mulled that over.

The redhead sighed. "Mostly I worry about Buffy and the rest. I mean, everything is fine with Tara - she treats me just as she always did but the others... They're treading on eggshells around me, as if they think I'm going to go bad again and kill them."

Giles frowned. "You just need to give them time, Willow. It was a shock but it was one that will recede - they are your friends and they will love you no matter what."

Willow smiled wryly. "Says the man who wasn't willing to tell us about Ben?"

Giles shook his head and sighed sadly. "They are two very separate cases entirely, Willow - you killed a man, who was less than a man, in the heat of the moment when you were lost in grief. I killed a crazy hellgod and a man who had been good until moments before. They might understand and forgive Glory but definitely not Ben."

He sighed and looked at her. "As I look at you, I can see that a part of you isn't exactly enamoured with what I did. For the record, I am not exactly enamoured with what you did to Rack. It is what is is though. Even if I could change the past, I would not."

Willow held her hand up. "Whoa there Giles. I'm not passing judgement – I know that you did the right thing - and for far better reasons than me. If you're saying all this to ensure I won't tell the others then please stop right now - I won't tell them! It's not my story to tell even if I thought they needed to know - which I don't. For the record though, I think you underestimate what you mean to us all. We were willing to forgive Faith and get her help. Why would you for a minute think that we would turn our backs on you when you've been a trusted friend and mentor for years?"

**eieio**

A while later, Willow entered the house once more with Giles. After a few more words spoken, Willow smiled and headed upstairs to her room.

Tara set aside the book she had been reading and smiled as her lover entered the room. "Everything okay?"

Willow nodded and flopped down beside her girlfriend on the bed and stole a kiss, snuggling against her as their lips broke apart. "Yep, Giles just wanted to check that I'm doing okay and I am - I have you and the rest (mostly) for support. I'll be fine."


	30. Silliness

Three weeks after Buffy had started work as a guidance counsellor, Robin popped in to see her. He sat down in the seat opposite her usually reserved for students. "I thought that you would like to know that Cassie is in the hospital now - they will be prepping her for surgery in a few hours. In case you wanted to go and see her."

Buffy felt relief wash over her. "That means she'll be okay, right?"

Robin frowned. "Honestly, at this stage, they're not sure - they told me the name of the condition but I can't even remember it. What I **do** remember is that they said that **if** Cassie makes it through surgery, she should be okay. The surgery though, is pretty dangerous as it's a new thing they've come up with."

Buffy nodded in understanding. "Should I go and see her?"

Robin nodded. "Definitely - in the end, the only way that I convinced that her fate wasn't set; that she didn't have to die was when I told her about you and that you dreamt about her," he held his hands up as the woman looked ready to protest, "I know - the Slayer gig is supposed to remain a secret no matter what but in this instance, I thought it was justified."

Buffy sighed - what could she really say anyway? She had pretty much managed to ensure that the residents of Sunnydale were fully aware of her identity at some stage over the years, even if they would never admit it either to themselves or to each other.

Robin smiled a little, glad to have diverted an argument. "Anyway, I'm giving you the afternoon off so you can go and see her. After that, you should go home and change."

Buffy blinked. "Change?" He still wanted to go on a date? She had assumed that was all a cover. What about Spike? Did he really imagine she could shift so easily from man to man - or rather, vampire to man ... Or really, vampire to vampire depending what day of the week it was? She shook her head to clear thoughts of her past. "Look, Robin... You're a nice guy and all but..."

Once more the teacher held his hands up to interrupt her. "Not to be rude but you're apparently dating my Mom's killer - this is not something I look for in a woman. It's not a date. I was out for a run last night - don't give me that look, I can handle myself - when you've lived a life aware of the undead et al, you learn to do so. Anyway, I digress... Point is, when I was out for a run, I happened upon a vampire nest - at least fifty of them."

Buffy deflated slightly. She wasn't interested in him but she couldn't deny that it was nice to be wanted.

"Oh. Vamp nest... Got it. I'll round up the others too," she eyed him levelly, "of course, this is your way of testing my strength etcetera and I will allow it - they'll be there for backup only. Plus, it's good for us to do this stuff together. Things with Willow are still a little awkward - that's a story by the way that I'll tell you some other time - or she will. Whatever." She shrugged and gathered up her bag and jacket, ready to go and see Cassie. "Okay, you want to meet at my house before heading out?" She paused. "I won't bring Spike this time but you will have to meet eventually. I'll let you decide when."

Robin nodded as he mulled that one over and watched her leave. He didn't like it but he would learn to live with it. For now at least!

**eieio**

In the end, clearing the vamp nest had been easier than expected. Their numbers might have been nearer fifty when Robin happened upon it but by the time that they got there, it was closer to thirty. The blonde woman eyed him. "I'm guessing you didn't just idly wander off when you discovered this place."

Robin shrugged. "It was tempting – they have only covered the windows with dark curtains and stuff. Would have been easy enough to rip that down and stake all around me but I'm not stupid. That way leads to death. I'm not a Slayer with a deathwish."

Buffy eyed him but let that one go. "Then I guess it's just the usual 'demons fleeing a war zone' activity." She shrugged and looked over at the rest of the group. "This should be easy enough – if you all want to go to the Bronze instead, we'll catch up when we're done. Failing that, the second that they wake, start tearing down the curtains and letting the light in here." With that said, Buffy pulled two stakes from her jacket and headed into the throng, her mind focused solely on ridding the world of the vampires in that room.

Robin studied her once the deed was complete. "Your style is definitely different from my mother's. She was more… like a machine."

Buffy sighed and brushed dirt off her jeans. "The times they are a-changing, huh? Faith and I are very much a new type of Slayer – we're the first to not follow every single thing the Watchers' Council says. In Faith's case, she doesn't believe in authority of any kind. For me, well, why shouldn't I have friends? Why shouldn't I have people willing to help me? The Council can be useful in relation to information they pass on but they don't actively get involved. They even went as far as to get rid of Giles once upon a time when he wasn't willing to stand by their stupid rules."

Robin nodded. "My Mom wasn't that fussed on them either but she did whatever they said. I met their leader once – she told them that I was her nephew. They would have taken me away I guess, for being some sort of distraction."

Buffy scowled. "If I were ever to have a child and they tried that, they would find themselves dead sooner than they imagined." She sighed. "Not once did they offer help after Mom…" she paused and took a deep breath. "…after she passed away. I had to do it myself until Giles gave me a helping hand and I finally got a job."

The young woman sighed and closed her eyes. "Never mind all that, sorry." She looked around the room, checking they had missed nothing. "Let's go – the Bronze, everyone?"

**eieio**

As the rest of the gang had other places to be, it was only Buffy and Dawn who went to the Bronze. Buffy had just been relaxing and enjoying her drink when Dawn suddenly started tapping her arm in a frenzied fashion, desperate to get her attention. "Buffy! Look! There he is! It's HIM!"

Buffy blinked and looked at her sister. "Who him?"

Her younger sister looked affronted that she should even have to ask, her eyes practically rolling to the back of her skull. "WHO? R.J! I've told you all about him, remember? He's so HOT! He's just amazing – gorgeous and HOT and smart and HOT and Quarterback for the team and OMG! Is he looking over at me?"

Buffy stared at her sister while this over-excited speech was going on then turned her gaze slowly to look at this specimen of perfection. He wasn't looking at her sister. She was fairly certain that he was however, looking directly at her. "No, he isn't. I can see however, what you find attractive about him. He IS rather hot."

Dawn glared at her. "I saw him first!"

Buffy snorted. "Oh my God! What are you, like, twelve? You don't get to call dibs on the hot guy, Dawn. Actually, even if you were twelve, you wouldn't get to call dibs on him."

Dawn scowled and grabbed her drink, threw the contents of the cup into Buffy's face. "He's MINE! You don't get to take him from me too!" She rushed off, out of sight.

As Buffy blinked slowly and tried to focus whilst orange juice dribbled down her face, she scowled. "Oh. I remember this…"

R.J. had witnessed the scene and was amused. This was also his perfect opportunity to chat up that really hot guidance counsellor. He'd always had a thing for older women and there was no denying that she would look good on his arm.

Buffy bit her lip as the young man sat down beside her – there was no denying that he was HOT. Up close he was even hotter. She frowned as she realised that it was getting harder to think. She needed to do something before she actually came onto him.

R.J. smiled charmingly at the woman. "Hey, thought you could use this." He handed over a wad of napkins. Saw that girl throw her drink over you. Don't worry about her though. Probably didn't do it deliberately. She's a bit of a klutz. She tried out for cheerleading today, fell flat on her face. I think she's a little keen on me, to be honest. It's a little embarrassing."

Buffy knew that she should be annoyed, that she should be defending her sister but she was just so glad that this gorgeous male wasn't won over by Dawn's youth and beauty! She sighed. "Isn't she though? Such a shame – I guess I got the non-clumsiness in the family. Ah well, at least she has her beauty..?"

R.J. blinked. "She's your sister? I'd never have guessed. You're way more hot than she is!"

Buffy actually flushed with pleasure as she heard that. Sadly, a part of her felt sure that it wasn't all because of the spell that she was starting to fall under. This had to stop now!

"Can I try on your jacket?"

"What's it worth to you?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'll kiss you." She shook her head. "No. No, I won't sorry. That would be bad… but oh so good… but bad! Bad Buffy." She frowned. "You can take me out on a date this weekend." That was better. Maybe. She wouldn't have to go through with it after all. Unless she let him keep the jacket… After all, he was so HOT! _(God, now who's acting like a twelve year old?)_

The moment that she got the jacket in her possession, she smiled. "Thanks. I can keep it until our date, right?"

R.J. blinked but shrugged. "Sure thing, chick."

_(Ugh, chick? Did he just call me chick?) _Buffy looked down at her watch and sighed. "Oh my, it's gotten late. I'd better go." She smiled at R.J and unable to help herself, she leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Bye."

The first thing she did when she got home was to burn the damned jacket. "I cannot believe I kissed him! Stupid spell." She shuddered and headed down to see Spike.

Dawn blinked and looked around. Why was she standing on the railway tracks with some rope in hand? She frowned and tried to focus. She'd been planning to… tie herself to them? "Holy crap – someone must have spiked that orange juice." She shuddered and headed home.


	31. Bad Graces

As Buffy took her first step down into the basement, she stopped and remembered Dawn – last time she had decided to tie herself up on the train tracks. Something about how R.J. would never forget her. She sighed, rolled her eyes and turned back around. "I'm gonna kill her myself when I find her." She got to the front door just in time to meet the aforementioned young woman. "Dawn, what are you doing with that rope? Were you about to do something stupid?"

Dawn frowned as she looked down at the rope. "I… am not sure. There was something about train tracks…"

Buffy scowled and snatched the rope away from her. "Don't you know that no man is worth killing yourself over? I thought that you were raised better than that."

Dawn rolled her eyes. "Right, killing yourself is bad but running away for a few months to L.A. is perfectly acceptable." What had made her think of that? That was so long ago.

Buffy just about resisted the urge to throttle her sister. "That was a long time ago and for very different reasons – also, I was chucked out of home and school and the police were after me. I had no other option. R.T. would have forgotten you by the next morning, undoubtedly. If he even guessed that he was the reason for your death. Also, it was a spell. His jacket was under a spell. Don't you feel silly now?"

Dawn's eyes narrowed as she rested her hands on her hips and eyed her older sister. "Sometimes, you are just so mean. I wouldn't kill myself over a guy, **all right**? Not in my own right mind." She stomped past her.

"Where are you going?"

"To make myself a sandwich and then I'm going to bed so I don't have to listen to you, **Mom**!"

Buffy rubbed at her temples, feeling the start of a headache. "Glad to see you're still alive, Dawn." She shook her head and headed down to see Spike.

**eieio**

For a moment as she walked into the basement, Spike actually looked pleased to see her. Of course, given that this was one of those days and everyone wanted to shout, this wasn't going to stay that way. She watched with a sinking heart as his almost-smile turned into a glare.

"What? What have I done to upset **you**, Spike?"

"Thought you said you loved me, pet. Or did I imagine that one? 'cause you smell like you've been bathing in some cheap-ass cologne of some cheap-ass git's."

Buffy blinked, taken aback. "Say what now?"

Spike sighed, hurt plain on his lovely face. "You smell like some other man."

It took her a while to work out what he was talking about. "Oh. From whatshisname." She rolled her eyes. "There was a spell. On his jacket. Made all females adore him. Didn't want to cause a scene so I got it off him by asking him to let me try it on. He didn't know the power it had so wasn't that bothered by – he inherited it from his brother." She frowned. "I think there might have been a kiss though," she hastened to add, "on the cheek."

Spike's eyes narrowed but he didn't say anything.

"Look, are you going to start a fight too? Dawn has fallen out with me because I told her that killing herself over a guy was a bad idea – which clearly, it is – but she's angry with me anyway. Or maybe just embarrassed that I knew about it. Either way… it's worrying."

She reached over and undid his shackles. "Are you still angry with me?"

The vampire wrinkled his nose. "Assuming you're not about to run off with the moron, I'll be okay – I'd be happier if you didn't stink of him… are you sure you should be unchaining me?"

Buffy nodded. "I'm sure. You're fine. The song is still having no effect and you're away from the crazy-making basement. It's fine."

The blonde lifted her arm to her nose and sniffed. "Ew, you're right – I stink." She shook her head. "I'm going for a shower." She reached out and stroked his cheek, turned and headed back up the stairs.

**eieio**

Half an hour later she returned, her skin still pink and flushed from her shower. Spike had never seen a more appetising sight in that moment. Fortunately he caught himself before the thought could take hold, shook his head. Noticing the two cups in her hand, he gestured with a nod of his head. "Does one of those contain some blood for me?"

Buffy nodded and offered the one in her right hand to him as she sat down beside him. "Do I smell better now?"

Spike nodded. "Yep, very tempting." He hastily reached for the cup and took a long drink. "Buffy-like, I mean. Sorry. Guess I was more hungry than I realised."

Buffy stared at him wide-eyed then laughed. "That's all right. I know that I could take you if you were to try anything funny." She set her cup down on the floor by her feet then actually leaned in to him and nuzzled, her eyes closing. "It's been such a weird day. On the bright side, Cassie is in the hospital. She should be coming out of her surgery soon. Please God, everything goes okay."

She opened her eyes and looked up at him a moment later. "So you feel up to some patrolling with me later?"

He nodded. "Sure. It'll be good to get out of here for a while and blow the cobwebs off, clear me head and all that."

Buffy smiled and kissed his cheek. "Kissing you is far better than kissing whatshisface, for sure."

The vampire snorted. "I'd like to think so given that you can't even remember his name – or is that so I can't find him and beat nine bells outta him?"

The young woman looked alarmed. "Why would you do that? He was under a spell." She took in the look on his face and relaxed. "Oh right. A joke. Sorry. I guess you wouldn't need his name anyway, would you? You could find him by his scent alone."

"Damn right." He took a chance and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, looked a little stunned as she took the opportunity to nuzzle a little further into him. "Are you feeling all right love?"

Buffy smiled. "Mmm hmm… Just a little tired and you make a very comfy pillow."

Spike smiled and shook his head. "So this is what the Big Bad has been reduced to? Being a pillow for the Slayer?"

His smile widened. "I can live with that."

**eieio**

There was definitely something to be said for a vampire with a soul – actually there were a lot of things to be said in favour of one. Especially **her** vampire with a soul! Unlike Angel, his vamp loved her as much as his soul did. And compared to Riley, he was almost as strong as she was. Even better, he wasn't at all intimidated or annoyed by the fact that she was the stronger of the two. Spike even seemed to enjoy that fact.

It was wonderful to be out with someone she knew could be relied on in a fight to not go and get killed or slayed or dusted. After Riley stopped his medication, how often did she spend on patrol, watching him and worrying? It had been a huge distraction.

After she learned about Angel and his curse, she never could relax around him in the same way. Part of her had always worried that something would happen to make him lose his soul again – though apparently that wasn't that easy any more and involved a lot more happiness to make his soul disappear from his body.

With Spike though, even he were to lose his soul the very next day, she knew he would still love her – and not just because of that stupid chip! It was an amazingly liberating truth. Here at last, was a man she could love with everything she had to offer.

Spike looked at her as they walked to the graveyard. "Are you wool gathering there, love? You seem a million miles away?"

Buffy blinked herself out of her thoughts and looked at him. She smiled and shook her head. "Just thinking that I'm very glad that it's you, Spike. That's all."

"What's me?"

She shook her head again and smiled. "That-"

She scowled as she was rudely interrupted by a random demon barrelling into her, screaming obscenities about the whole Slayer line.

Spike frowned. "Now that's just rude. Want my help with this, love?"

Buffy smirked. "I think I got this one." The fight took less than five minutes. "Is it just me or does the possibility of another Apocalypse make everything that bit more crazy around here?"

"Demons and monsters are all crazy anyway but it does make them go that bit more insane. Before you say it, yes, that means me too – something deep inside me is telling me to run for the hills." He smirked. "You know me though – not so good with following orders. Even if they are my own."

Buffy smiled and took his hand. "Good. I'd miss you if you were to leave." She tugged on his hand to get him to start walking with her again. "Okay, time to get more serious now." She looked at him. "You know the new Principal I told you about? Who is the son of a Slayer?" At his nod she continued. "Well, Robin just so happens to be the son of a Slayer who you killed." She winced a little. "The one you got the jacket off."

"Bollocks." Spike mulled that over for a moment. "Does he know?"

Buffy nodded. "I had to tell him. He was going to kill you, of course but I told him that I wouldn't stand for it. For the moment at least, he's playing by my rules. I think it's best though, if that jacket of yours stays unworn for a while – at least until he gets used to you a little. And definitely no comments or references to his mother or the fact that you used to kill Slayers for fun!"

Spike sighed. "Goes without saying. Damn, I hate the guilt this stupid soul gives me." He shrugged. "That's my burden to carry though. Perhaps too, if it hadn't played out as it did, you would never have been called – she may have lived just long enough to change the way the Slayer line played out. I can't bear to think of a world where I never got to meet you."

Buffy frowned. "No. Me either." She gave his hand a squeeze, knowing that anyone hearing that conversation would think they were both incredibly selfish but was there really any point brooding over a past that couldn't be changed? She was after all, just trying to see the silver lining.


	32. Making Amends

Out of curiosity, has anyone else read the Buffy/Spike comics? I was so happy when I learned of them. I couldn't wait… since reading them though, I find my enthusiasm has waned quite substantially. Buffy tried being gay for a while? Spike was in love with Fred? Don't start me on where they took Gunn's story! I had really hoped, at least, that Dawn and Buffy's relationship would have improved but apparently that was too much to hope for. Gah!

**eieio**

Six months Previous

Andrew shook his head rapidly as he stared at his brother Tucker, registering his words. "No, I can't do that. I **won't **do that! I know how bad it feels to kill someone and there's no way that I can do that again!" He rolled his eyes. "I mean, obviously I didn't kill Tara – she's still alive. It also had nothing to do with me actually but we didn't know that at the time and the fact is that it feels horrible and I won't go through that again. Especially not if it means killing Jonathan."

Tucker eyed his little brother. "Don't be such a wimp! You want to make something of yourself? This is how you do it. You think they'll still stay mad at you when you use his blood to close down that pesky Seal again? Really? You're doing them a huge favour. They'll be **grateful** to you! Probably make you their King or something."

Andrew's eyes lit up for a moment as he imagined that. "Yeah, there'd be a crown and a robe and everything, right?"

Unnoticed by his brother, Tucker rolled his eyes but nodded, sure that he had Andrew where he needed him… only to sag in defeat as the irritating blonde shook his head. "No. I can't. I **won't**!" The older man growled. "Why are you such a wimp? You **have **to do this, Andrew. Don't you want to make amends for all the trouble that you caused?"

Andrew nodded vigorously. "Of course I do but couldn't I... you know, go there and wait on them hand and foot – or tell them about the Seal so that they can sort it out? Or… or… couldn't I even use some sort of other blood? Like the time you got the blood from the butchers to feed the hellhounds you set up to kill everyone in formal wear after Buffy turned you down?" He blanched as his brother's features darkened. "I mean, after you changed your mind about asking the silly blonde idiot to Prom?" He said the last sentence as if reciting something long beaten in to him.

Tucker eyed his sibling for another moment but decided to let it go. "Fine, fine. Go to Sunnydale, take the other one with you, buy as much blood as you can and close the Seal! Be sure to take the dagger with you. To make it work you will need some of your own blood so you'll have to cut your palm too."

Andrew whimpered. "But… I **hate** pain."

Tucker growled. "Fine then! Get your friend to cut **his** palm. I really don't care – just get it done – the future depends on you." The older man rolled his eyes as his brother took on that starry-eyed gaze that warned of impending sci-fi geekdom, then wisely chose that moment to disappear as suddenly as he had shown in the room and Andrew was left alone, knocked out of his reverie and staring in awe at where his brother had been standing only moments before. "So cool – I really hope that I get that power when I join him as a **god**!"

**eieio**

Present Day

As he sat in the passenger seat of the car, Andrew let out a weary sigh. "Can't we just go in already? You've been circling around here for so long that we're about to run out of gas… and I really need to pee."

Jonathan closed his eyes momentarily, tired of listening to the whiny voice of his only friend. He opened them sharpish as he remembered that he was driving. "I'm waiting for the right moment. We have to keep this low-pro, remember? Can't just drive in. What if they know, somehow and they're waiting?"

Andrew snorted. "They don't and they aren't. Why would they be? As far as they're concerned, we left Sunnydale behind. Anyway, I'm sure that they're open to reason if they **do** find us – we're here to **help **after all!"

Jonathan scowled. "Right. I'm sure they're definitely open to reason. After all, it's not like Willow tried to kill Warren or anything, is it?"

Andrew shrugged. "She didn't though – and her girlfriend is alive. Everything's cool." He sighed. "Look, just go in and if by some freaky chance, they do end up catching us, you shut up and let me do the talking, okay?"

Jonathan eyed him briefly. "Oh right. Sure. So you can, what? Blame it all on me?"

The blonde idiot rolled his eyes. "Why are you so worried? I told you what Tucker told me – and your own Dad backed it up. We go there, buy the blood and pour it over the Seal – mixed with your blood from the palm you will cut open with the Dagger, the Seal closes, we show the Slayer and we're heroes! Next thing you know, we'll be in their Gang."

The diminutive man relaxed a little. "Yeah, we'll be somebody then. Once we've saved the day… '**Desde abajo, te debora.'**"

Andrew shivered a little and spoke his translation of the words his friend had uttered. "'**It eats you, starting with your bottom.'**" They both shuddered at that thought.

**eieio**

Buffy ate the last two slices of pizza she had found in the fridge, called down to the basement for Spike when she was done then they both headed out, hand in hand, to the cemetery.

Spike sighed and looked down at the grave where they waited. "So you knew this kid? Webster… Holden Webster?" He frowned in concentration for a moment. Why did that name sound so familiar?

The Slayer nodded. "Yeah, he was a psychology student. Really nice guy! Very good at the whole psych stuff! He once told me that I had an inferiority complex about having a superiority complex." She snorted. "He was probably right. I don't like feeling better than normal people just because I'm a Slayer – that's a little too close to Faith thinking right there but I can't seem to help it. I mean, clearly I'm **not **better than anyone else – I can't even find a balance in my life but still, a part of me can't help feeling that I'm doing okay, k'know? I'm doing everything in my power to keep the people of the world safe from the demons and vampires that most don't even want to acknowledge."

**eieio**

Dawn rushed down the stairs as she heard the doorbell; stopping only to check through the peephole to make sure it was safe. A few minutes later, she was dancing into the kitchen with a box of pizza, paid for by Buffy's money – despite the fact that her sister's note, prominently displayed on the fridge, clearly stated that she should eat something other than pizza. Whoops, hee hee!

The young woman sat down at the table with the box and a glass of milk. The quietness of the house with everyone out on either dates or Slaying was disconcerting so she found herself singing a silly ditty to break the silence. "Anchovies, anchovies, you're so delicious, I love you more than all the other fishes." The words – and the fact that she was rebelling against her sister - made her grin widely.

Fifteen minutes later, as she set her empty glass in the sink and stashed the remaining pizza in the fridge, she smirked and headed upstairs to Buffy's room and proceeded to check out her clothes, to see if there was anything she wanted to borrow.

**eieio**

Buffy scowled as the hand of her former classmate appeared in the dirt of the grave. "C'mon… why do you all have to be so slow?" She frowned as she looked up at Spike. "I'm forgetting something."

Spike shrugged. "'s long as you've got your stake to kill the monsters with – and your ready, witty puns of course - what more could you need?"

Buffy frowned. "I don't know. I've got a niggling worrying sense going on here."

The blonde vampire looked more alert then. "Your Slayer sense?"

"No, more of a… sisterly sense?"

Spike sighed. "So you're saying that you think that Dawn is up to no good? Or that she's in trouble?"

Buffy chewed on her lip, scowled and grabbed the hand that appeared to still be struggling for purchase and yanked the young vampire out of the earth. Before he could say a word, she plunged her stake into his chest. "She's in trouble!" The Slayer took off like a bat out of hell.

**eieio**

Dawn had gotten bored of looking at her sister's clothes – truth was that while some of them would be okay, most were not what she would deem cool. Not by a long shot. "Jeez, when did Buffy turn into Buffy-Mom?" She pouted and headed downstairs to watch a movie.

She had been sitting on the couch for a few minutes when Buffy's weapons chest caught her eyes. Smirking, she got up and moved over and opened it to look at everything in there. It was the remembered orders of Buffy throughout the years that made her roll her eyes and start lifting and messing about with them.

The young woman grinned as she did her best to lift Buffy's prized – and ridiculously heavy – axe and swing it in the air. "Die, you wretched demon! Oops." The axe landed in the arm of the sofa. She had to struggle for a few minutes to get it free then quickly set it back in the chest before inspecting the damage. Biting her lip she fretted… for about ten seconds. Then she shrugged. "Eh, she'll think a demon did it." After another moment, she rearranged the cushion so the deep gouge wouldn't be immediately apparent.

**eieio**

As movies were no fun to watch on your own, the young woman called her friend Kit to talk about the movie. She stared at the old black and white image and snorted. "Oh please – as if that move would manage to decapitate a vampire." She rolled her eyes. "No Kit, seriously – you saw it, right? She's built like a twig and she just tapped his chest with the lightest of taps from the stake and poof! He's gone. Totally unrealistic." She frowned. "Well, unless she's a Slayer, obviously – they can be deceptively strong. Look at Buffy. She's so little…" She giggled then frowned at her friend's answer. "What? What do you mean you didn't see it. Tom Hanks? Wait, what channel are you on? Seventy three? You're serious! We've been comparing notes on this film for the last twenty minutes and you're watching Sleepless in Seattle?" She giggled but jumped a little as she heard a bang resound through the house. "What was that?"

She got up slowly and eyed the room in front of her, keeping the phone cradled between the crook of her shoulder and head. "Kit, it sounded like someone dropped something. O-only, there's only me here. For a change." Being on her own suddenly didn't seem so much fun.

As the bang came again, it seemed to emanate from the direction of the front door. Instead of running in the opposite direction, she headed straight for the noise – just like Buffy would. It occurred to her then that she had been watching her sister in action far too much but her mind was made up. Taking a deep breath, Dawn opened the front door… only to have to battle to close it again. "**Is there a storm?**" With some effort, she got it closed, having to shout above the noise for a moment. She leaned back against the door before giving her attention to the phone once more. "Kit, is there a storm? Kit? Kit, are you there? **Kit!**" The line was dead.

A loud explosion on TV made the young woman jump and let out a small scream. "Okay, you're one distraction I can definitely do without." She rushed over and turned off the TV… and turned it off again. Except it wasn't going off. With a scowl, she reached for the plug and pulled it out. The screen continued to display the film. "Oh… crap."

Internally, a part of her wanted to scream for Buffy. Another part of her – a more surprising part of her felt that whatever this was, she could deal with it. Her gaze flickered to the weapons chest. It was right there, might as well arm herself – with something a little lighter than the axe, obviously.

As another bang echoed through the house, she swallowed resolutely, grabbed a lighter axe and headed into the kitchen where the radio was now playing full-blast. Light from the left side of the room caught her attention. "Oh God." The microwave was on and smoke was blaring out of it. "Oh **God!**" Dawn chewed on her lip for a second before moving forward purposefully – she would use the axe to destroy the microwave before it set fire to the kitchen.

It exploded suddenly, shards of glass showering over the room. Dawn squeaked and moved back, heedless of the fact that the broken glass was cutting up her feet as she did so. All she could do then was raise her arm to shield her face as she moved back. "I can't do this. Buffy…"

As panic started to set in, a voice coming from the radio as the music stopped for a moment made her pause. "Dawn?"

"…Mom?"

**eieio**

Buffy growled as another vampire suddenly burst out onto her path forcing her to stop her forward momentum. "Slayer, I've been waiting a long time for this." Buffy glared then shoved the vampire roughly out of the way. ""Spike…"

Spike smirked and pulled a stake out from the pocket of his new jacket. "On it, love. Go take care of the nibblet. See you in a few." He pounced on the other vampire. Buffy took a second to look back and make sure that he was dealing okay then sprinted off once more.

**eieio**

Dawn stood in the corner and tried to think of what to do. What would Buffy do? Well clearly, she would shout a lot and make witty puns until something appeared that she could beat up a lot and then stake, decapitate or otherwise kill… she should probably do things her own way – she swallowed, grabbed the first aid kit off the counter, grabbed the radio and moved into the front room. Rooting around in her bag, she found her cell phone and dialled Buffy, working on clearing glass out of her feet so they could be bandaged.

Buffy heard her phone ringing but didn't bother to fish it out of her pocket – if it wasn't Dawn, it would be a distraction and she already knew what Dawn would be saying if it was her sister.

Dawn whimpered and dropped the phone to the sofa beside her and grabbed band-aids to cover her bleeding feet. After sorting that, she grabbed the radio and shook it frantically. "Do it again! I heard you!" Her breath caught in her throat as she caught something out of the corner of her eye – colour where there should be none.

Turning around slowly, she couldn't help the gasp that escaped her as her Mother was revealed to her, lying on the couch dead, in the way that Buffy had apparently found her. "M-mommy." The lights went out…

…a moment later, they came back on. Her mother was gone but the furniture around her was rearranged – the chairs were now piled up on the desk that was randomly sitting in the hallway, the weapons that had been in the chest suddenly lay in an untidy pile on the floor, cushions and books were scattered all around. "Oh God!" The brunette reached for the phone by her side but it was no longer there. What **was** there was much worse – the walls she now noticed, were covered in streaks of blood. All of them! The lights went out again.

When the power returned in the next moment, everything was as it had been previously. Dawn whimpered and did her best to hold it together, clinging to the radio in her arms. As she realised what she was clinging to though, she rolled her eyes and dumped it on the seat beside her, reaching for the axe that **did** still remain by her side.

Another bang.

Another…

Dawn bit down hard on her lip to stop herself screaming in fear. When she felt that she could speak without screaming, she took a shaky breath. "**Why** are you doing this?" The only response was another bang.. and another. "**STOP! PLEASE STOP!**"

She screamed, unable to stop herself as the bangs quickened, seemed to come from all around her and yet nowhere at the same time. Everything stopped.

"H-hello." A bang. What if it was her mother trying to talk? "Once for yes, twice for no, okay?" All was silent. **"ONCE FOR YES, TWICE FOR NO…"**

"Mom?" Hope stirred in Dawn as one bang echoed through the house. "A-are you okay?" The young woman had to bite back a sob when there were two bangs. "Oh God! A-are you alone? Is that what the problem is?" Two thumps… followed by the house shaking violently. An earthquake?

Buffy came barrelling into the house "Dawn!" She moved over and wrapped her arms around her sister, trying to pull her away to safety, out of the house. Dawn refused however, digging her heels in so that she wouldn't be dragged away. "Buffy no – it's Mom. Sh-she's here - she needs our help! We **have** to help her, Buffy."

Buffy frowned and looked at the mess of the house, at her sister and sighed. "All right." She moved over to her weapons chest, grabbed the first thing that came to hand, all the while dodging falling plaster and other objects.

**eieio**

Jonathan dropped the rope through the skylight, tested it then slid through it into the building below – Sunnydale High. True, it was a new building but it still felt like 'school'. He sighed as he heard Andrew scream all the way down to the ground. "Subtle." He turned and looked at him. "Seriously! We've done this before, haven't we?"

Andrew looked up at him, trying to retrieve his dignity from where he was sprawling on the floor. "Yes, with Warren." He spoke the name of their friend with reverence, his eyes shining. "Anyway, I have shin splints." He stood as Jonathan just shook his head. "Let's go."

Jonathan shivered as they walked, following the plan they had printed out from the Library computer earlier that day. "Y'know, a school is actually a really creepy place to be at night." Hearing the sound of shattering glass off to the side, the two whipped around. "We should go get Buffy, tell her what we know about the Seal of Danzalthar." Jonathan looked over, hoping for confirmation of that plan but Andrew shook his head. "No way – we do that, she'll take everything off us, seal it up again and take all the glory. Meanwhile, we will still be outcasts with a heart of gold who will have to go back to Mexico." He scowled. "I **really **can't understand Mexicoan enough to live there any longer."

Jonathan eyed him. "You picked up Klingon in two weeks, you could have picked up **Mexican **if you had really tried."

The blonde eyed him. "Doesn't matter – we're not going back! We're doing this, Jonathan. Now let's go." Grabbing his friend's arm, he started walking purposefully towards their goal, giving the shorter man no choice but to follow.

Ten minutes later, they stood in front of the Seal. Jonathan stared down at it. "Oh well – it's buried and we have no spades or anything, I guess we'll have to leave it for another day." He turned to leave but Andrew stopped him. "Don't be ridiculous. Look, the ground is soft. We can easily dig it up with our fingers. We have to do this! It's for the greater good, remember?"

Jonathan sighed but nodded. "Right." He kneeled down and started scooping the dirt away. Andrew just watched for a moment. "Or given that this is a basement with handy tools, we could use the shovels over there." Jonathan looked where his friend pointed, glared as he brushed his hands off, stood and went to get them. "You could have said that in the first place."

**eieio**

Willow bolted upright in bed, panting heavily, fear clogging her brain for a moment. Tara sat up and looked at her. "Willow, what's wrong? What is it?"

The redhead turned and looked at her, alarm and worry clearly etched on her features. "Tara!" She pulled her lover into a tight hug. "You're alive! I had such a terrifying dream – you died. But you came back and tried to get me to kill myself to be with you. You'd said all these lovely things: Reminding me about our singing on the bridge that time and about how you had said I was strong like an Amazon but then you told me to kill myself to make up for everything."

Tara clung to her girlfriend and comforted. "That sounds horrible. But it was just a dream."

Willow shook her head. "From beneath you, it devours."

Tara frowned. "What?"

Willow shrugged. "It was the last thing you said to me, before I woke up." She shivered. "It was so horrible, Tara." She pulled back a little from her and just looked at her, stroked her face and kissed her, verifying that indeed, it was nothing but a bad dream.

**eieio**

Both Buffy and Dawn whimpered as the lights flickered on briefly and they were subjected to the sight of their mother being strangled by some **thing**… Dawn cried out and moved to run to Joyce but Buffy stopped her. The younger woman made to protest but Buffy shook her head and handed her a dagger. "If it comes near you, use this."

Buffy moved towards the couch, swung at the creature but the lights went out, nothing connected. **"Mom!"**

She whipped around at Dawn's scream, fast enough to see an axe being levelled at her sister's face. Fortunately the brunette's reactions were fast enough to take her out of harm's way.

Dawn was seriously reconsidering the idea of leaving – but her Mom was in danger, was being hurt… No, she had to stay! She took a deep breath and moved further into the room – ready to defend her sister or hurt the thing trying to hurt them.

**eieio**

As they poured the blood onto the Seal, Jonathan stopped and looked as if he'd finally discovered the meaning of life itself. "36-19-27. That's it!" He grinned triumphantly but deflated a little at Andrew's blank gaze. "My locker combination – I've been trying to remember it since we came in here. Been driving me crazy."

Andrew frowned and shook his head. "I've been trying to forget High School since I left. Here you are, actually trying to remember it. I don't get it."

Jonathan shrugged. "I miss it." At his friend's sceptical look, he frowned. "I'm serious. As time goes by, I've forgotten the crappy, nasty bits – the pain and humiliation have faded away and I just miss my friends," he shrugged almost apologetically, "I miss my enemies. I miss the people I talked to every day, I miss the people who never knew I existed. I miss them all – I want to talk to them all, find out what they're doing with their lives."

Andrew scowled at him. "Well, they don't miss you. I can guarantee that not one of them even remembers you enough to wonder what you're doing with your life right now."

Jonathan smiled whimsically, his gaze far away in that minute. "Well, I still care about them… That's why I'm here." He poured the last of the blood onto the Seal and took out the dagger from his backpack. Taking a deep breath, he sliced it across his palm and let his blood join with the pool at their feet.

**eieio**

Half an hour had passed since Buffy had entered the house. They were still no further forward. If anything, all they had accomplished was to make the… whatever it was more angry as the banging was now even louder and nearly continual. Both women were looking rather the worse for wear as the thing had attacked under cover of darkness, shredding their skin and clothes with sharp claws. As they took a moment to catch their breath during a lull in the attacks, Dawn tapped her sister's shoulder to catch her attention. "Buffy, I think we need to do something else. A spell maybe to cast it out?"

Buffy frowned. Why hadn't she paid attention to Dawn before? When this happened last time, why didn't she ask what she had gone through instead of getting mad about the mess of the place then concerned about what their Mother had said? She should have asked. She would have to let her sibling take the lead. She looked back at her and nodded in the gloom offered by the moonlight streaming through the broken window – Xander would be **thrilled**. "Okay, good. Do you know what we need?"

Dawn looked a little taken aback that Buffy was actually listening but rallied quickly. She nodded and together the two of them gathered the supplies.

As Dawn got comfortable in her circle, Buffy stood before her, doing her best to protect her from any further onslaught. "Okay Dawnie, make this quick, okay?"

Dawn took a deep breath. "Quick as I can! Light the candles, please."

Buffy moved away to do so. Before she had finished lighting them, Dawn had started the spell. Cursing slightly under her breath, she moved back to her sister in time to watch her being hurled across the room at her words. Dawn tuned out her sister's worried screaming of her name to focus completely on the spell. "I cast you out."

Dawn panted for breath but grabbed more of the concoction from the bowl in her left hand and threw it out. "I cast you from this place. It is your poison and your bane." The young woman cried out in pain as claws raked across her cheek, slicing her skin. Buffy could only watch on helplessly. It wasn't a situation she liked or appreciated.

"It is the skin that is cut from your flesh." This time it was Buffy's turn to cry out as her own cheek was sliced up – perhaps the creature had decided to change tactics, hoping that Dawn would stop if she was the one being harmed. Buffy growled and looked over. "Keep going Dawn. Don't stop!"

A strong wind picked up in the house, imploding the remainder of the windows in the room at the very least. Both women sunk to the ground, covering their faces. Though the wind continued, Buffy reached for her sister's hand when there were no more glass shards raining down on them. "Dawn! Are you okay?"

Dawn spared a reassuring glance at her sister for a second then struggled to her feet. "I cast you out… with every Prayer from every god that walks the Earth or crawls beneath!" She didn't have the strength to cry out as she was forcibly thrown back into the door behind her. She whimpered but sat up again, ignoring the pain. "I cast you out with the strength of those who love me. I cast you out with the strength I have inside me! I cast you out into the Void!" She threw the bowl and its remaining contents into the swirling vortex that had appeared in front of her.

Buffy was so focused on watching her sister that she didn't see the item being hurled at her. Not until it connected **HARD** and then she saw nothing at all for quite a while as she blacked out.

Dawn growled as she saw her usually so strong sister crumple to the ground. **"DIE, YOU BASTARD!" **Blood suddenly splattered the walls but the noise was dying down. She had done it! She had actually done it on her own. Without any help from Buffy… At the thought of her sister, she rushed over to her. "Buffy! Are you okay?"

Buffy groaned as she sat up. "Oohhh my head!" She winced as she touched the back of her head and it hurt, her hand coming back sticky. "What hit me?" She sighed. "Never mind. Ugh, that's rather embarrassing."

Both women looked up as the room lit up suddenly. Buffy was the first to react. "Mom! Mom, is that really you?"

They both stared at Joyce as she stood in front of them, glowing as though an Angel. She smiled serenely at her beloved girls. "It is so good to see you both. Oh, I wish I could hug you, keep you with me… safe." She looked suddenly sad then. "I can't stay – I came only to warn you. Something is coming, something bad. Something that can't be stopped! It will try and come between you, try and make you choose sides. Don't let it. You need to stand together. Strong."

Buffy found her voice then. "From beneath you, it devours."

Joyce looked surprised. "Yes. You know?"

Buffy nodded. "The First."

Joyce's eyes were filled with sorrow. "You are going to be tested and pushed to your limits. Stay strong; stay together! Remember I love you."

As their mother disappeared, both Dawn and Buffy cried out, tears flowing freely down their faces. Buffy was the first to react, wrapping her arms around her sister to hug her tight. Her mother's words had changed. Did that matter? Was it significant? Or had the changes that she had already brought into things changed the outcome. Was it even really their mother?

She sunk weakly to the floor, Dawn following. "I… back when they brought me back, it brought something else, right? A bad thing for my good! Doesn't that mean that it had to be Mom? I mean, she only appeared after you exorcised the demon or whatever. **You**. All you, Dawnie." She looked hopeful and maybe a little desperate. "It had to be Mom, right?"

Spike burst into the house then. "Are you okay? What the hell was that? Been trying to get in for the last hour but the wind…" His eyes finally registered the damage to surrounding his two favourite people. "What the bleedin' hell happened in here?" He rushed over to the two. "Are you both okay?"

**eieio**

Andrew and Jonathan stood and stared at the Seal, waiting for it to do something magical. It was taking quite a while really – the dagger had connected with blood over half an hour ago. "Perhaps we did it wrong. Or perhaps it has to sink into the ground. Maybe we should have set it down, dripped my blood over it and **then **added the pigs blood..?"

Andrew frowned and looked up as Tucker appeared at the other side of the Seal. "It's not working."

Jonathan scowled. "I can see that." Of course he couldn't see Tucker.

Tucker shrugged. "You used pig's blood – it takes a little longer, is all. You could speed up the process by using more of his blood."

Andrew glared. **"NO!"**

Jonathan jumped a little. "It's fine, it'll work. It has to. Relax."

Tucker sighed. "Fine, fine. Whatever. Just wait a little longer." He scowled and crossed his arms, tapping his foot impatiently. "Any minute now…"

"**FINALLY!"** Another ten minutes had passed but finally, the Seal lit up, the blood having finally been accepted.


	33. Freedom

Spike's expression was wary as he looked over at Buffy. "Okay, I get it – they're not exactly rocking the love of all things good here, what with their having no eyes and tongues an' all but they're human, Buffy. I can't kill them."

Buffy eyed Spike. "Spike, these things are only human by the loosest definition. Just like Vampires are not really human either. No offence."

Spike snorted. "None taken."

Buffy sighed. "You're different, Spike. Even before you got your soul, you were different. Look, these things have chosen to serve the First and have gone through every ritual possible to remove every trace of their humanity. There's no goodness left in them. They might have the outward appearance of human but that's it. It has no bearing on them whatsoever. Don't let their blindness fool you either – these things are really, **really **well organised and they put up quite a fight."

Spike sighed. "So how do we kill them?"

Buffy shrugged. "Like any other demon - stab them, behead them...even a stake through the heart will work." A heavy sigh escaped her. "Then we bury them. Definitely not pretty but we need to stop them – they're trying to remove the Slayer line from existence because we're pretty much their biggest threat right now." She wrinkled her nose. "I mean, obviously there's Connor who's apparently a big deal but he's off being normal," her tone held just the faintest hint of wistfulness, "plus there really IS only one of him so, yeah - just us."

Spike scowled but nodded before standing up from their hiding place behind of all things, a big bush. "Right then." He headed towards the pair of the aforementioned agents of evil. "Who's up for a fight, huh?"

**eieio**

They quickly dug a grave for the duo after, working in silence until Buffy spoke. "Whoever thought that the Slayer would have to carry around shovels in amongst all her Weapons." She wrinkled her nose. "Kendra probably did – it's no doubt written somewhere in the Slayer Handbook."

Spike gave her a disbelieving look. "There's a Slayer Handbook?"

Buffy smiled faintly and shrugged. "Apparently. I've never seen it – Giles didn't think that it would be of any benefit to me." She pouted a little. "It woulda been nice to have seen it - if only so I could have laughed at their outdated ideas."

Spike snorted and shook his head. "The mind boggles…" he let the subject drop then to return to their original conversation. "So you've been slaying these things for months...how come you're only telling me about them now?"

The Slayer shrugged. "Honestly, it's become second nature to deal with them. I just didn't remember. Plus, even if I had, you had more than enough on your plate."

Spike sighed and sagged a little. "You did at least tell the others though, right?"

The young woman blinked. "Yeah. Of course!" She chewed on her lip for a moment. "They've been researching them for a while, trying to find a way to reverse whatever has been done to them to make them this evil but there's nothing. It's irreversible. Much like becoming a vampire, you can't become human after choosing to side with the First and becoming one of its bringers. Difference is that they **chose** this for themselves - even if we could reverse it they'd go back first chance they got."

She sighed as she registered that Spike was looking wounded. "Please don't look at me like that, Spike. There wasn't any reason to tell you – you've been out of duty, getting used to your Soul. Why burden you with something you didn't need to know when it would only confuse the issue?" He still looked put out however so Buffy dropped her shovel and closed the distance between them so she could wrap her arms around him. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Spike looked down at his love, tried to remain out of sorts with her but it was impossible. He wrapped his arms around her and sighed. "Sneaky woman – always know how to get around me - I'll let you off. This time!"

Buffy grinned, leaned in and kissed his lips softly but broke away after a few moments. "We should get these things buried."

Spike pouted but lifted the shovel he had dropped when he had went to hug his girlfriend. "Ah, you sure know how to show a bloke a good time, Slayer." He smiled as Buffy's only response was to giggle. He didn't think he'd ever get bored of that sweet sound.

**eieio**

The Seal was supposed to be closing! Why wasn't it closing? Andrew was freaking more than a little. His brother couldn't have been lying to him, could he? He took nervous steps backwards and away from the opening as a hand emerged. It hadn't opened fully – the pigs blood mustn't have been strong enough to do that but it wasn't supposed to open **at all**! He looked over at Jonathan who was just staring at the Seal, completely rapt. "Something's **wrong!**"

Jonathan snapped out of his trance and looked over at him, worry and fear plain on his features. "They lied to us, I think. We should get Buffy!"

Andrew nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a really good idea. She'll know what to do - or at least beat whatever that is until it wisely chooses to go back from the very depths of hell it came from! Let's go." He cast a nervous glance to where an arm had now emerged. "Right now. Quickly. Wish we could just beam out right about now." He headed nervously around the hole until he was standing beside Jonathan then the two bolted out of the basement.

**eieio**

The Turok-han were an ancient race. They had roamed the earth long before humans' ancestors even existed. Somehow though, they had been banished below the surface, trapped there not for millennia but for tens of thousands of years. They were forced to stay beneath, staring up at the events of the world as the first human walked the earth and slowly took over, conquering nearly every part of it. How could such a physically weak species survive against that burning ball of fire in the sky that thrust its poisonous rays of light down on the planet when they could not?

As time passed, trapped there with only each other and the First for company, they angrily discussed what they would do should they ever be able to return to the surface – they had no speech but they communicated telepathically. Their days were spent imagining with each other the many nasty ways that they would kill the parasites infesting their world. Oh, there would be much destruction when they were free. And they woud be free!

Tuk was the youngest of them all and by far the smartest. He was still much older than man himself but young enough for the others to dismiss him out of hand. He didn't let their condescension annoy him however.

Because he wasn't spending his every moment plotting the destruction of the humans, he noticed the Seal that would some day allow access to the upper world. He had watched it, unnoticed for the most part, almost continually. The First occasionally showed up to ensure that he was still watching but what else was there to do? Other than fighting with the others to ensure that he stayed strong.

The moment that Jonathan and Andrew opened that Seal – or at least one small part of it, he saw it. It was his time! He knew that with every fibre of his being. He looked around to see if the others had noticed but of course they hadn't. Tuk moved over and stuck his hand through. On meeting no resistance, he almost screamed in triumph but resisted the urge. This was **his** moment! He would show them that he was every bit as worthy as them.

**eieio**

As they were running out of the school, the two idiots didn't even bother trying for stealth. They just aimed for the nearest door they could find. When that proved impossible to exit out of, they backtracked into one of the classrooms, broke a window and escaped that way. They stopped to catch their breath when they had been running for a whole two minutes – running wasn't really their forté.

Jonathan was the first to remember the dagger. "We should have brought it – the dagger. You said we needed it to close the Seal only it opened it instead. Maybe it can be used to close it… we should have brought it."

Andrew frowned. "Buffy can get it."

Jonathan eyed him. "Oh, great going genius! We show up at the house, tell her that we've let something out of a Seal near the Hellmouth but we left the thing that opens it right there for whatever that was to take and open it further. Yeah, I'm sure she'll go really lightly on us."

The blonde man pouted. "Well, what do you suggest, huh? We go back and it kills us? That'll make things better! Who will warn her then, huh?"

Jonathan scowled. "I'm not suggesting that at all. I'm not ready to die, thank you but we need to get it. We just… go back, sneak in, make sure it's not around, grab the dagger and leave – unless there's more of them. Then we just leave, tell Buffy via email or something and we head back to Mexico, safe from the fallout."

Andrew whimpered at the thought of Mexico but decided that it was better than staying and facing the ire of Buffy… or worse – Willow. The thought caused a shiver to run down his spine. "Okay."

"Right...so...as soon as we catch our breath, we go back." Now that it was decided, Jonathan looked apprehensive and more than a little fearful.

Andrew didn't look any better. "Yeah. Soon as," he cast a glance over his shoulder. "Or we really could just go now."

A growl escaped Jonathan. He reached out and grabbed his friend's arm and started heading back to the school. "We're doing this, Andrew. We have to!"

When they reached the school, it was surprisingly quiet - even down by the basement. After a burst of arguing, they resorted to Rock, Paper, Scissors to decided who would go in after the dagger. Jonathan lost.

The short man entered the room warily; hoping his lack of stature would for once work in his favour and keep him hidden from anything that might want him dead.

There was no sign of the… whatever the thing the arm had belonged to so he gave himself a moment to breathe a sigh of relief... Until it dawned on him that the Seal was closed over somehow. Maybe Buffy had already fixed it?

Strangely the thought didn't bring comfort so he pushed it aside and scanned the room quickly for the dagger. Spotting it, he lunged for it and stared at it in triumph for about ten seconds before coming to his senses and heading to the door.

As he grabbed the handle and pulled, he smiled as he saw his friend's terrified face. "It's okay, I got it." His smile turned to a look of horror; shock and pain though as something entered his chest from behind.

Andrew could only stare in shock as Jonathan's dying, bloody form slumped to the ground, the blade dropping and skittering into the shadows somewhere off to the side. His feet finally mopved though as he registered that whatever had stabbed Jonathan would be coming out. He shuffled back quickly into the shadows and prayed to a God that he had never believed in that he would go unnoticed.

Apparently God was listening - Tuk merely stepped over Jonathan's body and headed out, oblivious to the whimpering boy hiding in the shadows.

**eieio**

For a second as Tuk watched blood flow from the mortal wound in the parasite's chest, the uber-vamp felt a little less angry. He even pondered drinkings its blood as their puny descendents did so often but discarded the idea, stepped over the corpse and walked out.

Tuk was going to find the parasite whose hair so closely resembled the toxic ball of fire in the sky then kill it slowly, savouring each second of its pain. This would be Tuk's triumph and his alone! **He** would be the one to stop it killing their descendents, impure or not, and then **they **would be forced to accept his superiority amongst them. That was why he had stomped down on the arm of the Seal - it wasn't closed but for all extents and purposes, it looked it.

**eieio**

As they walked up to their home, Spike paused. "There anything else you forgot to mention to me, love?"

Buffy stopped as he did, a sheepish look crossing her face. "The Watchers that were saved because of my dream are living here in Sunnydale. Faith too – and the Potentials – by that I mean young women that have the Potential to become the next Slayer, if Faith were to pass on. They're in the Initiative of all places as the Potentials learn how to be Slayers. We will be joining them eventually but not yet. With Faith there, they're protected. They're not here in the house because there's simply too many of them. Much as we all hate the place, the Initiative makes sense - don't have to pay for it, there was bedding, it's hidden. Of course there are more Potentials flooding in every day but the ones here longest will be going on Patrol with us soon enough - training is good and all but they need to take on vamps too."

She stopped and drew a breath. "Oh, and I'd like to make love with you - **proper** making love. Sometime soon."

Spike stared at her. He knew that she had said something about Slayerettes and Watchers and the dreaded Initiative but that came a paltry second to her last revelation. "Right then - awful good at turning a man's brain to mush you are!"

The woman smiled almost shyly at him. "So what do you think, William?"

The souled vampire smiled back at her. "It'll be a first for me..." Making love wasn't something he'd ever done.

Buffy's smile grew as she reached for his hand. "Don't worry - I won't be **too** gentle with you," she giggled a little, "besides I'm sure that you will excel at it." She pulled him into the house and they headed upstairs.


	34. Shattered Bliss

Jonathan frowned heavily as he stared down at his body and growled. "What a waste. What a **waste**!" He turned to eye the Bringers standing nearby. "Why did none of you move the darned body to the Seal?" He nearly trembled with rage before changing form to that of Buffy - she at least was good at venting rage. Part of the First was disgusted by such a base human reaction but yet another part felt it entirely necessary.

Buffy glared at the assembled mass. "You have failed me in this simple task and now I'm really **pissed off! **You'd better not fail me again or I will end your miserable lives! Go get that worthless wretch they call Andrew and bring him back here!"

The Bringers, who had actually been hanging their heads in what appeared to be shame and terror until then, fled from the room, eager to please their dark master.

**eieio**

Robin walked into the basement, unaware of 'Buffy' standing and glowering at him, and sighed as he saw a dead body. "Great - take one night off and someone ends up dead. Life on the Hellmouth is **fun**!"

He shook his head, sighed and headed upstairs to his office to make a phone call. He was tempted to just bury the body straight off and forget about it but he had promised to inform Buffy of any activities relating to the Seal. Then again, the body wasn't ACTUALLY on the Seal so maybe… He shook his head again. What was he thinking? The last thing he wanted was to get on the wrong side of the Slayer! Besides, this body had been a human not that many hours back - whoever the male was, he deserved as close to a proper burial as it was possible (given that they couldn't bring a member of the cloth to say the right words).

**eieio**

Buffy reached sleepily for the bedside light and flicked it on as she heard the house phone ring, made a face and groaned when Dawn answered it only to come to her door and knock. "Great."

The blonde woman pouted a little as she looked over at Spike sleeping oblivious to it all, leaned in and placed a kiss on his cheek before rising and grabbing her dressing gown and pulling it around herself, tying it and going to the door.

Dawn's brows raised a little as she noticed the unusual darkness of the room her sister had just emerged from. A giggle escaped her though as she realised what that meant. Buffy eyed her so she settled instead for giggling a little more as she handed over the phone before heading down the stairs, dancing a little as she went down the stairs for breakfast.

Buffy sighed as she listened to Robin first apologise for calling on a Sunday then tell her about a dead body in the basement. She felt her post-coital glow from the night before (or rather earlier in the morning) recede a little. Just once, couldn't she enjoy amazing sex without something going wrong somewhere?

She pushed the rather selfish thought aside as she realised what it meant. "Jonathan..?"

Robin frowned and started heading back to the basement. "No, I'm Robin, Buffy. Are you feeling okay?"

Buffy pulled the phone away for a moment to scowl at it before pulling it back to her ear. "No, I... is it Jonathan?" She had meant to save him! How could she have forgotten him? Again?

Robin's worried frown cleared then. "I don't know. Hold on..." He stood beside the corpse for a moment before kneeling down and rummaging through pockets until he found a wallet. "Semi-naked Princess Leia. Classy." He eyed the picture on the front of the wallet, wrinkling his nose a little in distaste.

Buffy's heart sank as she heard that - it could really only be Jonathan or Andrew. She had failed them. This was so much than last time because she had **known **it was going to happen because it had happened before. "Not a Star Wars fan, huh?"

Robin snorted. "I'm really more of a Stephen King fan, myself." He was pulled back into their serious conversation when he found an old Sunnydale High library card inside. "Jonathan... someone. Can't read the surname - it's illegible."

Buffy cursed softly. "Give me half an hour, I'll be there."

The guilty blonde ended the call and pushed it out of her mind for a few moments as she headed downstairs for breakfast. She rolled her eyes and smiled slightly as her sister burst into a rousing chorus of "Buffy and Spike, sittin' in a tree..."

The older woman gave her sister a wry smile, "Funny," she gestured hopefully to the plate in front of Dawn, "any of your delicious pancakes for me?" This was definitely shaping up to be a pancake day but she didn't have time to make them herself.

Dawn grinned, stood and lifted a plate from the counter and set it down in front of her sister with a flourish. "So... You and Spike, huh?" The younger woman sat back down and tucked into her pancake stack once more.

Buffy couldn't help the goofy grin that stole over her features. "Uh huh."

Dawn squeaked with delight. "Without giving me any icky details that will break my poor defenceless brain, does the Soul make a difference?"

The older woman frowned as she took a bite of her pancake, giving the matter some thought. She shrugged after a moment or two, swallowed the morsel of food before replying. "He's still Spike – yet somehow he's more. It's amazing. It's really everything I could have hoped for." _Even better than the time I had had with Angel – not that I could ever vocalise that thought… it would feel MEAN somehow._

Dawn beamed and hugged her sister. "Good. I'm so glad - last thing I would have wanted was for you to end up with another Riley someday." She wrinkled her nose but spoke up quickly when it looked like Buffy was going to protest. "Don't get me wrong - he was a nice guy but, definitely not for you. You have always needed a guy like Spike, someone who can deal with the fact that you were stronger than him and not be intimidated."

Buffy stared at her sister and shook her head. "How did you get so smart when you're still so young?"

Dawn grinned wickedly. "Well clearly I got all the brains in the family." She giggled as Buffy's only response was to stick out her tongue good-naturedly before turning her attention to the pancake she still needed to eat.

Dawn, realising she had been dismissed, grabbed the phone to call Kit and skipped into the sitting room - they hadn't talked in nearly twelve hours after all!

After a lightning-fast shower, Buffy headed into her room and dressed quickly. She stopped long enough to leave a note for Spike in case he woke while she was gone, made sure the curtains were completely closed then headed off to meet with Robin and make her silent apologies to Jonathan as she buried him somewhere – somewhere nice. He deserved that at least.

**eieio**

Buffy looked confused as she took in the sight of Jonathan's body laying face down in the dirt of the basement floor. Why wasn't his body on the Seal? Didn't Andrew do this? Surely if the First had convinced him to do this, Jonathan's body would be on the Seal. She turned her gaze to the man standing beside her. "I don't get it – did you move the body? Why isn't it on the Seal?"

Robin shrugged. "No, of course not. Why would I do that? It was bad enough pulling his jacket free so that I could find a wallet but lifting him up and moving him off the Seal? Why would I do that."

Buffy held her hands up in apology. "Sorry. Just… was expected it to be on the Seal. I mean, that's the whole point – his blood spills onto the Seal, it opens…."

Buffy and Robin both looked down at Jonathan's body for a moment, both confused. Robin's gaze didn't shift as he spoke. "I'm guessing if I ask how you knew, you'll tell me it was through a dream."

Buffy looked over at him. "Seems unlikely but yes - the Mother of all dreams with enough information to explode your brain – so it seemed at the time."

Robin looked up at her then. "You don't feel like sharing?"

The Slayer shrugged. "I would if I could remember but it's getting harder and harder to recall all of it – or any of it in truth. I wish I'd thought to write it all down at the time." Why hadn't she thought to do that? Maybe if she had, Jonathan would still be alive. She sighed heavily as she was reminded of the death of Xander and Willow's friend Jesse – just one more death to add to the others she wasn't able to prevent.

"We should bury him. Somewhere nice. He was a good kid, always trying just a little too hard." She knelt down and carefully lifted the body, gesturing for Robin to leave the room first before following.

**eieio**

Andrew chewed on his lip as he stood near Buffy's house – standing behind the same tree that Spike had stood behind a few years ago, interestingly enough – he had been trying to decide what to do because there was no way he could risk just walking up to Buffy with the dagger. She'd probably have found Jonathan by now and think that he had done it. As well as blaming him for that **thing **being loose! What would there be to stop her handing him over to scary, veiny Willow?

He considered his options – he could of course leave it in the letterbox but what if someone other than Buffy or her Gang intercepted it? Uh uh! That could get Buffy in trouble, which in turn would get **him **into trouble when she figured it out…

No, what he needed to do was to set it on the doorstep with a note, ring the bell and run back to the tree and make sure that someone picked it up… then he could go.

He sighed as he reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out the note he had written earlier along with the dagger that he had carefully wrapped in a pillowcase he'd borrowed when he left the Motel in Mexico – he hadn't been able to figure out how else to carry it and he was worried about getting cut. "I miss Jonathan."

He eyed the house warily for a few moments as he unwrapped the dagger. When he was sure that no one was watching, he rushed over and set the items down. Just as he was about to ring the bell however, the door opened and he was staring at Dawn. He only had time to gulp before a startled looking Dawn grabbed the front of his shirt roughly and dragged him into the house. "You! What are you doing here?"

Dawn's eyes narrowed as Andrew's mouth moved like a goldfish's, no words coming out. "Did you leave that dagger on the step? What are you up to? I'm calling Buffy!"

Andrew whimpered. "No wait! I…" He sagged. "What could he say? "Please don't call Willow!"

Dawn shoved him further into the house and quickly ducked and grabbed the dagger then slammed the door and shoved Andrew again – this time into the kitchen. "Sit!" Andrew sat. "What have you done THIS time?"

Andrew actually trembled a little. "I… I didn't k-know – **we** didn't know! We were trying to do good, I swear!"

Dawn growled. "**What **did you do, moron?"

Andrew clamped his mouth shut - to stop it visibly trembling. Unfortunately, Dawn took it to mean that he wasn't telling. With an angry growl, Dawn turned on her heel and left the room... only to be heard shouting moments later for Willow.

It was fair to say that after hearing the women having a rushed, muted conversation before entering the room, Andrew was willing to metaphorically spill his guts so that an angry, scary Willow couldn't do the same literally.

Before he got a chance to do so however, the windows that Xander had finally had time to fix the day before, smashed in around them and they were surrounded by Bringers...

**eieio**

As Buffy headed home, she was torn between the urge to go out and slay a lot of bad guys to atone in some small part for Jonathan's demise and wanting to curl up in bed with Spike – she felt sure that he could make her feel better… at least a little.

Unease naturally washed over her as she reached her home only to note broken windows. Again.

Snapping out of her shock, she dashed forward, entertaining the notion of entering via the broken window rather than taking the time to fumble for keys. Common sense won out at the last instant however, and she entered the house through the normal way.

The sight that met her eyes was terrifying – not the mess and destruction because that was commonplace now but the fact that Dawn lay sprawled on her stomach right in front of her… was she… no, she couldn't be! She wouldn't accept that.

She rushed towards her sister and fell to her knees at her side, fingers moving to the inert young woman's neck to check for a pulse. She sagged in relief when a strong and solid pulse was in evidence.

With no visible sign of injury to her sister's body, she dared to risk turning her over onto her back. A growl escaped her at the sight of a rapidly growing bruise on the side of her face. She pushed the rage down for a moment as she realised her sister was coming to.

Dawn groaned and her eyelashes fluttered open. Jeez, she hurt **everywhere**! She didn't get much time to assess the damage though before Buffy starting firing questions at her.

She groaned and closed her eyes. "I'm fine, Buffy. Well no, I'm not but I will be… That **toad **Andrew must have been brought them here… tried to stop them but…"

Buffy frowned and cut in. "Brought who?"

A slight whimper escaped her sister as she sat up only for the world to start spinning out of control. She flopped back down again. "Uh… Bringers! That's what you called them, right?" She sighed and rubbed at her forehead. "They took him, beat me up, took Spike… oh, and Mom's patchwork quilt."

Buffy blinked. "Mom's… oh right. For Spike! Being a vampire and all." She scowled. "So they took my boyfriend, the blanket Mom made for us… and Andrew." She frowned. "What about Willow and Tara?"

Dawn shook her head. "They went upstairs after them… I don't know."

Buffy cursed softly, stroked her sister's cheek and apologised before heading upstairs to check on their friends. The place was a mess up there too but she was only concerned with the two women who were fortunately waking up. "Thank God!" She checked them over quickly. Once she had satisfied herself that they would be okay, she headed into Dawn's room and grabbed her duvet and a pillowcase.

She moved downstairs and brought the bed linen over to the nearest sofa, set them down on a spare chair then moved out and carefully lifted her sister up, carrying her to the sofa and getting her comfortable, placing the duvet over her. She moved out to the hall and found the phone in the wreckage before heading back into the room, speed-dialling Xander. "Hey, it's me. The place is a mess. I think it's time. Can you and Anya come and help pack when you can? I'm heading out… gotta rescue Spike and Andrew and Mom's Patchwork Quilt."

Xander blinked and took the phone away from his ear to stare at it for a moment. "Your Mom's… never mind. I'm sure that makes plenty of sense if I'd been there. So the place is beyond fixable, huh?"

Buffy sighed. "Yeah." She reached out and ruffled her sister's hair. "They hurt Dawn too. I came in here; I thought she was DEAD, Xander. Scared the hell outta me."

Xander shook his head. "You forget Buffster – Summers women are tough. All the main women in my life are tough. She'll be fine. I also know that you'll get the bastards."

Buffy smiled and felt herself relax. "Oh, I'll get them."

Ten minutes later, Xander and Anya showed up and Buffy smiled at her sister, giving her a gentle hug. "See ya later. Don't worry – they won't get the chance to hurt you again."

Willow caught up with Buffy as she was heading down the path. "Buffy, you can't go alone. There's too many…"

Buffy smiled and hugged her friend. "Don't worry – I wasn't planning to. Gonna stop by and pick up Faith, probably a few of the Potentials." She paused and considered. "I'll send some over here to pack and carry our stuff. You'll send the stuff we want to keep safe to Giles' house in England, right?"

Willow smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course. Don't worry about it. Just stay safe, okay?"

Buffy nodded. "Always."


	35. Greater Understanding

Buffy and Faith walked purposefully out of the Initiative, a handful of the Potentials - including Rhona and Kennedy - behind them, talking excitedly but quietly amongst themselves. Faith looked at Buffy. "Y'know, I really wouldn't wanna be one of the bad guys today. Not the way you're looking - I think one look could kill... Or at least maim anyways - never seen you this angry and I've certainly given you reason a couple o' times..."

Buffy scowled. "They broke into my home and trashed it, they hurt my sister and my friends, took my boyfriend, my Mom's blanket and Andrew. I'm not so much worried about Andrew but y'know; he could be useful in the future … he's human too, obviously. He needs to be protected. Seriously though, what is it with the bad guys hurting my friends and trying to take my boyfriends?"

Faith winced at the reminder - back when she had been working for the Mayor and so lost, hadn't she too tried to steal Angel from Buffy? Going so far as to get a spell cast to steal his soul? It was probably for the best that it didn't work. Sometimes though, she wondered… she pushed that thought down. "Hey, I'm good now, B. I promise not to steal any of your boyfriends."

Buffy snorted. "First off, you couldn't steal Spike if you tried. Second, if you did, no one would ever find your body or your corpse, your bones, anything!"

Faith held her hands up. "Okay, okay I get it - Spike's off limits. That's just fine. I can deal." She smirked a little. "Honestly, it's just nice to feel that I'm a part of the group."

Buffy cast a glance at Faith and realised that she was relaxed and looked… happy almost. Did keeping her in the loop, making her a part of everything really make a difference? They walked in silence for a while as she gave that some thought.

Well, of course it did! Faith originally came here to Sunnydale with nothing - no friends, no family, no Watcher. If things had worked out the way they normally did for a Slayer, then Buffy would have died properly at the hands of the Master, Kendra would have been called only to die at the hands of Drusilla then Faith would have been called, coming to town as the** only **Slayer... Assuming that Angel and Co. Hadn't killed off her friends (or herself, given that she couldn't help but have her suspicions that once Angel was done tormenting her, he would have turned her), Faith would probably have slotted neatly in.

The blonde sighed wearily and rubbed her forehead as she turned her gaze to look at the younger woman. "I'm sorry."

Faith blinked and looked her way, confused. "Sorry? For what? What'd I miss?"

Buffy sighed. "I wasn't that great to you - when you first came here all those years ago. I mean, at first it was good. You were so wild and untamed and it was fun to let my hair down - even if the first time I did, the police caught me for shoplifting. Still, it was fun. But then I saw you slotting easily into my life with my friends and Mom and Giles… it didn't really sit well with me - I was little more than your typical spoiled only child back then." She shrugged apologetically. "Good job that Dawn came along when she did, really."

Faith smiled faintly and patted the other woman's shoulder. "No point worrying about it now, Buff. Not like I exactly helped matters. The whole Gwendoline Post thing just threw me so badly."

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, not to mention the whole thing with Angel being back. I wanted to tell you, I did but, he was so… feral. I didn't know if he could be saved. I knew he had his soul - or at least, I hoped he did but that time I ended up in that hell dimension and I realised how time worked, I figured he was gone for years - possibly even centuries! What would those years of torment do to a soul as fragile as Angel's? Could he be brought back?" She frowned. "I genuinely didn't know. I… killing him once was bad. If I'd had to do it a second time, I think it would have destroyed me. At the same time, I knew it had to be me. I couldn't let anyone else do it. So I didn't tell you. Didn't tell anyone. I should have told you though. It just never occurred to me that he would get free."

The brunette sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "It's not like I can't understand - hell, there was a time when I was half in love with him myself. I get it, y'know? Besides, given that he was the one who helped save me, I'm glad he came back… and you're right - with whatshername encouraging me, I would have killed him just to make her happy." She sighed. "It felt good y'know? Having someone there, solely for me. I wasn't treading on anyone else's toes... I had a place I belonged... A person who cared! To realise that it was all a lie, that I'd completely misjudged her… it made me hate myself even more. How could I not have realised? Was I really so desperate to be accepted?" She shook her head, annoyed at herself, at the memory of just how needy she had been - and how gullible.

The older woman reached out and rubbed Faith's arm, trying to offer comfort. "Self-hate seems to run pretty strong in Slayers, huh?" She smiled suddenly then - kindly. "There's nothing wrong with wanting to belong, Faith. Let me tell you a big secret - I often don't feel like I belong, either."

She looked off to the side for a moment, gathering her thoughts. Turning back, she smirked. "I think it's a Slayer thing - or more specifically a demon essence thing." She nodded and grinned at the silly nature the conversation had taken. "That actually makes a lot of sense - how many demons are truly comfortable around humans? Yet given our human naature, we don't belong in their world either."

Faith stared at her, suddenly feeling she had fallen asleep on her feet and missed a huge chunk of the conversation. "...Demon essence..?"

Buffy waved her hand dismissively, still smiling. "Long story - the first Slayer was created when a group of men chained a normal girl to the earth where she was eventually infused by the essence of a demon. Pretty strong one at that, given that it's passed down through the years and we're still wicked strong." She frowned. "Guess it wasn't that long a story after all."

Faith stared at her openmouthed for a moment then seemed to gather her wits once more. "Explains a lot - including why there's meant to be only one of us at a time. Can you imagine how strong the first must have been? I mean, probably a bit of that essence drains away with each transfer... Shame we can't find a way to channel that power - not that I'm suggesting that we should chain up Kennedy and the rest up but... What? What's so amusing?"

Buffy lost her big grin and shook her head. "Not amusing - I'm happy that we're on the same page. I had been thinking the same."

**eieio**

Spike took a deep breath just before his head was once more shoved under water - the Bringers had been doing it to him for what felt like hours now - after beating him to a pulp first, of course - they beat him, hal-drowned him, then beat him again. Over and over. He didn't need to breathe but it was getting harder and harder to remember that. A small part of him knew that pre-soul Spike would never be this distressed but mostly, he was just freaked out.

He was yanked out roughly, a slap to his face had him focusing as much as possible, realising that someone familiar was talking. He looked upwards at the Bringer that was currently twisting his wrist at an angle that was causing a great deal of pain. He wasn't surprised to feel and hear bones breaking.

The talking ceased for a moment as Spike screamed out in pain but then continued as Spike struggled to think or breathe or **something**. He finally registered that it was Dru who stood beside his torturer. He had to blink his eyes a few times; he felt sure that he was hallucinating. But no, she was still wittering on about him being 'bad' and about the moon and stars. It was **her**, in the flesh!

For a split second he brightened - Dru was here! Then he realised... It wasn't Dru. Even if it was, he didn't want her any more. He wanted Buffy. His love - the woman who made him feel like a man for the first time in existence - even before his soul was returned to him.

He sighed heavily before speaking up, cutting the 'female vampire' off in mid-flow. "You're not her." He spoke the words flatly, too tired and sore to care. Actually, he just didn't care, period! After the initial pleasure of seeing Drusilla had worn off in the first second or two, he really wasn't that bothered at seeing his old love and Sire - long before he realised that it was actually the First.

The First laughed. "I'm really not."

Spike snorted. "She was crazier. More evil too." His voice had picked up a little and for a second, a flash of the old Spike emerged - the Spike who happily taunted his enemy even as it looked like he was about to lose.

'Drusilla' eyed him for a moment before taking on the form of his beloved. 'Buffy' turned and glared at the Bringer who had stopped his task. "What are you waiting for? BREAK HIM!" She smirked as Spike cried out again as bones snapped - the torture made so much worse because it was 'Buffy' who had given the order.

The Slayer smirked. "Such happy sounds to hear, William, thank you."

Spike growled. "Get bent."

After a few more minutes of listening, the First got bored and disappeared from sight. Which really was a shame because it was that minute that Buffy, Faith and the small group of Potentials were entering the cave.

Buffy was even angrier than she had been previously simply because at first, she had led the way to the School basement only to remember that they would have Spike at that damned cave under the parking lot. Then it had taken her too long to **find** the damned cave! Ridiculous - taking time to find it the second time was acceptable - after all, she hadn't been there, in that space where all the dead Christmas trees stood years ago, since rescuing Angel from the First, back when it tried to get Angel to commit suicide. This time though, it had only been a year, give or take. It definitely shouldn't have been that hard to remember.

**eieio**

Spike stared at Buffy, not truly believing his eyes as surprisingly gentle hands pulled his head out of the water. "Buffy..?" Of course it was - the First couldn't touch anything but Buffy's hands gently wandered over his body, scowling darkly at the damage done to her lover. "I'll kill them all."

Having helped him to sit down, hopefully not causing him any more pain, she turned her attention to the main part of the room as Bringers flooded in.

Faith looked over. "I call dibs on the twenty on the right."

Buffy grinned and pulled out her trusty stake then joined the fray - between the two Slayers and the handful of Potentials, the Bringers never stood a chance.

Buffy looked at Faith as they stood in a pool of dead bodies. "Take a look around, see if you can see Mom's quilt, please? Oh, and Andrew - short blonde hair, geek, probably talking too much about sci-fi." Faith nodded and moved off to do just that.

Buffy meanwhile, knelt in front of Spike and took in the damage done to her lover. She cursed as she realised bones were out of place but healing already - she would have to break them again just to get them into their rightful place.

As she laid her hands on the leg of the badly beaten vampire, she apologised softly before forcing the bones to break once more and putting them into their rightful place.

By that stage, Spike was worn out and weak. Whilst he might have a higher threshold for pain than humans, in that moment, he didn't feel it. He let out an agonised scream. Unfortunately Buffy had to repeat the process another six times.

This definitely didn't rank as one of the best days of Buffy's life - add to that, that one of the Potentials was actually making notes in relation to Spike's pain tolerance... "**APRIL!**"

The Potential squeaked at the angry tone being directed her way. '"Y-yes?"

Buffy was shocked out of anger for a moment - she had gotten her name right! That was a definite improvement for sure! "Make yourself useful and go look for Faith! If she hasn't located the quilt - and Andrew, then help her. Take the others with you just in case there are more Bringers."

April nodded hastily, looked at the others and they quickly beat a hasty retreat. Buffy sighed and sat down beside Spike and took his hand. "Blegh. This day sucks."

Spike snorted, his words slurred when he spoke as though he was fighting to stay awake. "You're not wrong there, love - though I seem to recall that it started well."

Buffy laughed a little and laid her head against his unbroken shoulder. "Yeah, it really did."


	36. Death Becomes Her

It took Faith twenty minutes to find Andrew in the meandering tunnels – he was tied up with rope and a gag was tied firmly over his mouth. One of his trainers was also missing but Faith saw it off to the side - fluorescent yellow was a hard colour to miss.

When she pulled the gag off, it took him a moment or two to spit out what transpired to be one of his very own socks. "Wow, that is gross! Clearly they wanted you to shut up blondie. I'm Faith by the way - a Vampire Slayer." For a moment, she felt the old animosity stir at the fact that she could say **the** Vampire Slayer but she let it go.

Andrew paused in his monologue about Han Solo to look at her. "I'm confused - I thought there was meant to only be one... You know, like the Highlander."

Faith sighed at another reference she didn't get. "Short story - Buffy died, another was Called but she came back to life... So then there were two."

Andrew pondered on that for a moment. "Two is better anyway - like me and Warren... Or even me and Jonathan. I guess three works well too, is there another?" At Faith's glare, he went off on some rant about the perfect threesome in Star Wars - she had no clue as to what he was talking about.

It only took until Faith had completely untied him to understand why the Bringers would go to such lengths to make him be quiet. "Seriously dude, stop talking about sci-fi crap. Don't you think our world is bizarre and dangerous enough without you having to resort to living in Fantasy World?"

Andrew gasped indignantly. "It's not **crap** and it's not **fiction**," he felt the need to qualify, rolling his eyes as he did so, "for much longer anyways!"

Faith snorted. "Yeah whatever… you keep telling yourself that. Me, I live in the real world and fighting demons that want to kill us is bad enough without adding aliens into the mix." As she freed him from the last of the rope, she hauled him unceremoniously to his feet. "We need to get a move on – Buffy and Spike went on ahead of us."

Andrew, having been tied up for quite some time in a ridiculously uncomfortable position, fell down, face first on the ground. "Ow." He pouted as he was completely ignore by all the women. "Luke Skywalker would have had people lining up to help him." He muttered.

Faith rolled her eyes when he started complaining as the blood rushed back to previously numb limbs. "You have twenty seconds to shut up, stand up and starting moving or, I will forget that I'm meant to be good now and either beat you to a pulp or leave you here to take your chances with the rest of the Bringers… your choice."

Andrew gulped audibly, more than a little terrified of the dark haired woman, as his arm flailed uselessly about as he reached for the trainer that she had kicked in his direction. "I wish Buffy was here." One glance from Faith and he wisely shut up and stood as she had ordered him to.

**eieio**

The first was annoyed. It took a while to work out what exactly the emotion being felt was but, indeed, it was **annoyed**! Time to change from Jonathan to someone less volatile. After some consideration, it took on the form of Jenny Calendar. It was a form that it hadn't used in a long, long time - at least by human standards - but somehow it seemed that wherever It was, it was forced to choose forms of people that had lived and died in the area or who had family or friends there.

'Jenny' crossed her arms and drummed the fingers of her left hand against the skin of her upper right arm. A thoughtful look crossed her features as she decided what to do next. After a few moments, her face lit up as a plan formed: "What is needed is a Diversion!" She disappeared from the room.

When she reappeared, she stood somewhere in the Sewers and Tuk was standing nearby, looking at her. She almost purred as the old vampire bowed before her in deference to her supreme power. "Good, good… it's time to make your presence felt – I want you to snap a lot of necks so I can enjoy the sound and the look of horror on their faces!"

**eieio**

One minute the group were walking along, doing their best to tune out Andrew's inane chatter, the next all hell had broken loose… Perhaps things would have been different had Andrew not been with them – perhaps they would have been more focused on everything around them rather than playing 'Anywhere But Here' in their minds. It would be a question that would haunt Faith the rest of her days. The first sign of trouble registered as one of the Potentials – Violet - screamed in terror.

Faith hastily turned in time to see Kennedy's lifeless body slumping to the ground – Tuk had simply crept up on them as they walked on, oblivious to the world around them, and snapped her neck.

For a moment, all Faith could do was stare in shock – Kennedy was dead. She had been one of the few Potentials the Slayer had liked – at least when she was driving Buffy or the Watchers insane by asking them awkward questions and questioning their judgement on just about everything. Of course, it wasn't so much fun when the younger woman had started on her. Still, she had liked her… and now she was dead.

Her gaze turned slowly to the intruder whereupon her face paled visibly – standing in front of her was a creature not dissimilar to Kakistos – the very ancient vampire who had killed all those she had ever held dear back in her own home town what felt like a lifetime ago now.

For a moment all she wanted to do was to turn tail and run… run far away from the threat but she rallied a moment or two later – this wasn't Kakistos! This was something else... Her gaze flickered briefly to Kennedy's body... Something that was just as deadly! It could only be one of the uber-vamps that Buffy had spoken of. The Slayer swallowed hard as she pulled a stake from her jacket pocket and straightened – she could do this damnit - it was time to grow up and stop running!

She growled and rushed at the demon; intent on sending it back to the hell it had come from…

**eieio**

Tuk eyed the dark haired human that rushed towards him; a small piece of wood in her hand that he assumed was the weapon of choice. How pathetic! Did it really think that he could be killed so easily? He felt only disgust for the parasite – it and its fellow humans did not **deserve **to reside in this world – a world that rightfully belonged to him and his kin! He attacked ruthlessly.

**eieio**

As Buffy and Spike walked through the sewers, intent on getting 'home' to the Initiative, the vampire suddenly stopped dead. His eyes widened in alarm.

The young woman stopped as he stopped, her gaze turning to him, wondering why he'd stopped so suddenly. "Spike? What's wrong?" His expression caused butterflies in her tummy then, a bad sense of foreboding hitting her. "What is it?"

The vampire turned and gestured back the way they had come from. "Trouble. Someone screamed. That Vi chick, I think..."

Buffy didn't bother to wait and see if he had anything else to add - she took off, running as fast as she could back to the group. Spike did his best to keep up but he was still a little off after the beating he had received.

The Slayer arrived with the group seconds before Spike, just in time to see a bloodied and beaten Faith being flung into a wall hard. Faith didn't even move when she hit the ground. She was either out cold or dead… Buffy prayed it was the former.

Taking a quick look around, she registered Tuk, Kennedy's body and an axe held loosely in the grasp of Rhona who was clearly too shocked and stunned to remember any of her training – Buffy couldn't hold it against her as it was probably the first time she had seen someone slain in such a merciless manner before - the waste of life still sickened Buffy to the core but the Slayer in her was able to turn that to anger.

Without further thought, the older Slayer moved forward and grabbed the axe then turned to the uber-vamp. Ignoring Spike's worried 'be careful', she charged it.

Tuk only had time to snarl at the sight of his most hated adversary before the woman in question beheaded him without any preamble at all - the blonde didn't even bother with a pun when the deed was done.

Buffy let out a heavy sigh as she dropped the axe and dusted her hands clean of dead vampire ash. Her gaze then settled first on Faith then on Kennedy's body and her expression grew dark. She moved over to check for a pulse from the Potential but the angle her body was splayed and the fact that her eyes stared lifelessly ahead told her it was futile – and indeed it was.

Spike knelt down and checked Faith. "She's alive, love – pulse is strong. She'll live. Be a bit bruised and broken for a bit but Slayers heal fast, right."

Buffy nodded. "We need to get out of here." She lifted the young woman's dead body carefully into her arms as Spike did the same with Faith. The others might not remember Kennedy but she did – and she remembered how much she had done to help Willow, grounding her at a time when she had been completely lost. She deserved a proper burial and she would get it!

The Slayer gestured to the frightened group of remaining Potentials and Andrew to lead the way out – it would be easier to keep an eye on them if they were up front where she could see them.

**eieio**

It might have consoled them to know that they left behind a fuming First, currently wearing the body of the recently dead Potential. "They will regret the day that they ever met me and dared to challenge my plans!"

**eieio**

As they couldn't leave Sunnydale at a time when things were so hectic, Kennedy was buried in one of the local Cemeteries. The Service was overseen by one of the younger Watchers who went by the name of Michael - attractive in a stuffed-shirt-Wesley sort of way according to Faith. He had originally trained as a Priest until a vampire, right in front of him, killed his father. Only the presence of his father's well-trained Potential had saved him from the same fate. However, as an only child, he had felt it was his duty to take over from his father. He consoled himself with the fact that he was still doing God's work. Times like this, he felt that the change in career was for the best even more than usual.

It was a quick but beautiful service. Afterwards, Buffy stood at the graveside and stared vacantly ahead, thinking about lives lost. At least this time, she was making a full effort, right?

There was little comfort in that thought though - she should have stayed, made sure they were all fine instead of getting wrapped up in Spike - now Kennedy's name would be added to The List - people she had failed.

She sighed heavily as she knelt down to look at the grave in front of her, setting the rose she'd been holding since the start of the service at the top. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you, Kennedy. Sorry too that you didn't get to be with Willow this time around but thank you for being there when she needed you."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Buffy placed her hand on the grave in front of her for a moment. "Rest in Peace." She stood then and headed out of the Cemetery.

**eieio**

During the day that had passed, the First had fumed and roiled until finally coming up with a plan. 'Kennedy' glared at a Bringer. "That **bitch **seems to always be one step ahead of me. Every plan I have, she stops it… well, not this one! I've noticed a pattern – evil things come here, they attack and kill or **turn** every young person. That's what **she **expects."

She walked down the line of assembled troops, making 'eye contact' with each one in turn. "I shall go about it differently – go out and bring me every old," she wrinkled her nose at the notion that a creature that lived for less than a hundred years was old, "person you can find. Their blood will open the Seal and my army will pour forth into the land… the Slayer will never see it coming – and she will never know what hit her!"

All but one of the assembled Bringers dispersed (it was his sole duty to protect the dagger so recently retrieved from the Slayer's house, which would open the Seal) to obey as quickly as possible. Kennedy smiled with satisfaction – Tuk's ending had not been in vain as Kennedy's almost-military thinking had brought clarity to the First's thoughts and plans – the Slayer and her abominations were going down!

**eieio**

As Caleb snapped the last neck of his female parishioners, he smiled almost contentedly – it felt good to end the lives of those whiny, needy whores all so desperate for human love and affection, some even trying to woo him with their sinful and dirty female ways.

He had endured, satisfying the need inside by picking up homeless women, taking them somewhere secluded and strangling the life out of them. The Parishioners had provided cover - no one would ever expect a Man of the Cloth of such 'heinous crimes'.

He rolled his eyes. "'Heinous crimes'... Right. PROUD of what I did, removing those whores from the planet... Made it a better place."

Finally though - **FINALLY! **His wait was over. The First had come to him and his True Purpose was revealed - Hallelujah!

He was going to Sunnydale and he was going to murder the life out of every disgusting girl he found there!

He smirked as he looked at the dead bodies around him then turned to the Bringer who had brought word of his Summons and handed a can of gasoline to him along with a lighter. He gestured to the mass of corpses. "Take care of this, won't you."

Caleb beamed as he drove away half an hour later, the sight of a flaming Church in his rear view mirror most welcome.


	37. Questions and Answers

Buffy sighed as she made her way into the Initiative. She vaguely toyed with the idea of getting some sort of keypad system set up but then, the First could get in regardless, couldn't it? Then again, it might stop – or at least slow down – the Bringers. Of course, if a Potential… or say Dawn, decided to sneak out and was attacked, they might forget the code and not be able to get back in. Better to forget the keypad.

It had been another long, boring couple of hours of Patrol with nothing happening – apparently every evil thing in town had already fled or was laying low with the intention of doing so in the not-too-distant future. Either way, it meant that Buffy had been bored out of her mind, walking around looking for people to save and finding no one.

Given that there was so little going on, there didn't even seem much point bringing anyone with her so she had even left Spike behind so that he could do some training with the Potentials, helping them get into the mindset of vampires.

Right now, all she wanted was a hot bath – of course, being that they were in the Initiative, she would have to settle for a slightly warm shower instead but beggars couldn't be choosers, could they?

The Slayer just about managed to suppress a groan as she saw Quentin Travers and an unfortunately-named Female Watcher called Gwendoline Post who now went by the name of Olivia (Olivia was the woman's middle name but given what had happened with the other Gwendoline, apparently she hadn't wished to remind anyone of THAT incident. Buffy thought that the decision just made the woman stranger than she already was but who was she to judge?) heading purposefully in her direction.

Buffy idly wondered if it was too late to just duck through the nearby door, pretending not to have seen them but a furtive glance to her side told her that the door in question led to a supplies cupboard so they would undoubtedly just follow her in anyway. Damnit.

Travers stopped as he stood in front of Buffy. "Ah good, you're back. Just in time. It seems that the young women are getting restless. Perhaps you can talk to them and calm them down."

Buffy blinked. "Me? You want **me **to calm them down?" Had the man gone mad?

Travers spared her his usual disapproving glance, looking down his nose at her. "Yes well, you wouldn't be my first choice either but they don't want to hear what either I or any of the Watchers have to say – we're not good enough apparently. They don't want to listen to Faith or your witches either – only you."

**eieio**

Buffy stood at the front of the meeting room and looked around at the different Potentials and Watchers who littered the massive room. She didn't know all their names this time around but she knew around half of them – so far. She at least recognised the faces of each of the girls and had spent time training with each of them. So that was definite progress.

She sighed as the room fell silent suddenly, all eyes fixed on her. "Hey guys… uh…" How did she address the Head Watcher? Wasn't Travers just a bit rude? She shrugged and fudged it. She gestured with a nod in the old man's direction. "I'm told you had a few questions for me?"

Buffy had expected it to be chaos but apparently they were on their best behaviour – not just asking questions one at a time but raising their hands to do so. Wow, she felt like a teacher. That was actually kinda creepy. She pointed to a green haired woman whose name eluded her. "Yes?"

"Hi Buffy. I'm Chloe."

Buffy nodded in recognition. "Right. Sorry. What's your question, Chloe?"

Chloe scratched her head for a moment as she worked out how to put her question. "I was just wondering… I know that we're in a lot of danger and all, and being trained up for whatever this big evil that devours us from beneath or whatever is but, do we get any time off?"

From the murmurings that had started up around them, Buffy had to assume a lot of them had been thinking the same thing. "Time to relax, I'm sure we can arrange something. If you mean, will you get time to go and visit your families and suchlike, no. Sorry. Not even sure how we would arrange that because you'd have to go in big groups of thirty or so to ensure that you were safe." She frowned and looked at Quentin who merely shrugged, had no better answer apparently. "Anyway, given that things are falling silent – in relation to vampire and demon attacks, I have to assume that the First is preparing to make his move."

Buffy couldn't really think of anything else to add to that so fell silent. Chloe, whilst not looking thrilled, seemed content with the answer. After a moment, Buffy looked around. "Uh… Jane, right?"

Jane (an almost ridiculously tall blonde - in Buffy's opinion, at least. How could anyone need to be that tall?) nodded. Her Texan accent made Buffy smile for whatever reason. "If we can't see our family again, can we at least leave this building to call them? I doubt you want us all running up a bill on your cell and a lot of ours don't have reception in here."

Buffy smiled. "No need. I called in a couple of favours today with the former residents and they're going to be switching the power back on again for us. The telephone systems should be back up and running again by tomorrow morning." Well, probably within the next few hours but they would DEFINITELY be ready by morning.

Jane tilted her head to the side. "Wasn't this place run by the government? Can I ask what the other favour was, Ma'am?"

Buffy paled a little. "Ma'am? I'm not old enough to be a Ma'am just yet." She looked over at Willow. "Do I look old enough?" She relaxed a little as Willow shook her head reassuringly.

Moving to stand beside her, Giles coughed discreetly to bring her back to the now. "Oh. Right. Sorry." She frowned as she tried to remember the question. "Oh right. Just… a favour about stuff around here, Jane! Nothing major." She looked around for Spike. Right. _(Nothing major. Just asking them to remove the Chip. It'd better damn well go right this time too!)_

A red-haired girl even shorter than Buffy and with an obscure accent that might be English but very different to Giles' stood at the front and raised her hand – good job that she was standing a little apart from the rest or she would have gotten lost in the sea of bodies. "What's to say that we won't all die like Kennedy?"

Buffy sagged a little. "Kennedy's death was cruel and unfair and well before her time. Unfortunately, that's the way it is for Slayers. I **can't **guarantee you that you won't die. **I **have already died twice after all! All we can do is train you up, give you every possible tool at our disposal and hope that when the time comes, you will make it through. Both Faith and I will do what we can to keep you alive – and the Watchers, Willow, Tara and other witches here of course."

Off to the side, Dawn pouted. Why didn't she get a personal mention? She played her part here too, after all. She might only be a researcher but she was a damned fine researcher! She sighed and shook her head. _(Get over it already)_

A young redheaded woman with a strong Irish accent in front spoke up: "But we're not Slayers, Buffy – we didn't choose this... we weren't even **chosen**!"

Buffy nodded solemnly. "That's true Alicia. You didn't. Then again, no Slayer has ever chosen this life either. In the great scheme of things, it seems to be all entirely random. Sometimes even a Potential who would have made a great Slayer is passed over or becomes just a little too old to be Chosen as the Slayer before her, despite all odds, survives just that little bit too long." She frowned as her thoughts came back to Kennedy once more – and to Faith, the only Slayer whose death could actually activate another.

She never thought there would be such a bittersweet moment – if Faith were dead, perhaps Kennedy would still be alive. She could have been activated as the next Slayer, after all! A shiver went through her however, at the thought that Faith would actually have had to be dead for that to happen. No, she didn't want to do this alone. None of the other Slayers – when they became – could understand what the two older women had both been through already.

Pushing the thought aside, and forcing herself to deal with the current situation, her gaze shifted over the group in front of her. "My life was pretty good, before I was Called. I was **ridiculously **popular and I was a cheerleader." She smiled a little as she noted the look on some of the girl's faces. "Yeah, I'm sure you all had a 'Buffy' in your school so you know how it goes." She shrugged. "I was happy. Even dating the star Quarterback too... then it all went wrong!"

The blonde smiled a little as memories washed over her. "My first Watcher arrived, told me about vampires and demons and about how it was my duty, as the **only **Slayer in the world, to kill them all." She snorted. "That was a bundle of laughs. Took me forever to actually be able to get a stake through a vampire's heart for the first time. Still, it wasn't too bad – being the Slayer meant I had an advantage over the creatures of the night. Being a cheerleader had also kept me fit so I was doing okay... but everything quickly turned rotten. It ended with Merrick's death and the burning down of the gym. My parents even dumped me into an asylum for a couple of weeks because they couldn't believe in vampires. They split up - I still think it was my fault, Mum moved us to Sunnydale..."

Spike moved up behind her and rested a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back from dark thoughts. "Right. Sorry... anyway, we came here and I tried to be normal. That worked. For about half a day! Not even half a day, actually – then Giles found me." She smiled at the man standing off to her side then shrugged slightly.

"Since then, I've fought Vampires and Master Vampires, Demons, Souled vampires who lost their souls and went evil, evil experiments by the Government, fear demons, a Hellgod, an evil group of three former classmates who decided that the world would be better off without me and even one of my friends when things went South." She looked over at Willow who smiled wryly.

The Slayer sighed and shook her head. "Those are just a few highlights - it's hard. It's always hard. That's just the way it is. Is it worth it? Of course it is! I get to keep people safe, I've had wonderful people come into my life too." Her gaze wandered over the members of the Scooby Gang that she could see and she smiled brightly.

"Sure, sometimes I would love a normal life but if I was to be offered it tomorrow, I'd turn it down flat. You'll understand someday."

Alicia interrupted Buffy's musings: "But we won't, Buffy. That's the point. Not to go all Highlander on you or anything but, there can be only one, remember?" Buffy smiled a little as she heard Andrew whimper something about a 'perfect woman'. She ignored him. "Or in your case, two I guess... but still, even if Faith were to die tomorrow – though touch wood, she doesn't... that would only call one of us. Then unless the person called that very day, we'd all be pretty much too old to be called… and there'd still only be that one and you. Because that's the way it is, right?"

Buffy considered. "Honestly, I'm not even talking about being a Slayer. I'm talking about being human – and about the fact that while you're not as strong as a Slayer, you're still all stronger than a regular human. You **can **make a difference and help."

Buffy sighed softly as she realised how far this conversation had veered off course – she wasn't giving a speech, she was giving a pep talk. Ugh!

Her sigh turned into a groan however when a voice spoke up then, wishing to pull her to task – as usual.

"How exactly do you and Faith plan to keep us all alive, Buffy? You're really not as good as you think you are and I know for a **fact **that the First isn't quaking in its boots at the thought of you two and the woeful little group you've built up."

As she searched for the speaker in the crowd, Buffy frowned at the last part of the sentence but answered anyway. "Like I said - we can't possibly keep you all safe. I wish we could but that's impossible. That's the reason that we've spent so long training you all, teaching you basic magic too. We're giving you every tool we can to fight and live for as long as you possibly ca…" Her voice trailed off as it finally registered just **who **was talking.

Her gaze finally settled on Kennedy, right in the middle of the group. "You don't belong here. Certainly not in that body! Get out!"

Kennedy chuckled. "Aw, what's wrong Buff? You don't like me pointing out the obvious, huh? Don't like me pointing out that you're doomed even before you begin to try and fight back? It's really all rather pathetic, don'tcha think? I don't even know why you even pretend that you can fight back never mind actually win." Her grin widened. "It's laughable really – to think that you can defeat **me**!

Buffy growled. **"**Get out!"

Kennedy's only response was to laugh again. "What are you going to do to me Buffy, huh? Can't touch me – I'm not corporeal. There's nothing you can do to hurt me... but there's plenty that I can do to hurt you!" She looked around at the assembled group. "You know, I'm going to really enjoy each one of your deaths." Her gaze turned to Willow. "Yours will certainly be fun, I think, Red. Definitely yours!" Her eyes narrowed.

Buffy's hands clenched into fists at her side. Her instincts screamed at her to pummel the opponent but she couldn't. She forced herself to relax though as its malevolent gaze returned to her. "I will enjoy your **final **death most of all though – third time's the charm, right?" She had the audacity to wink at Buffy then.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Is that really the best you've got? That you'll get to see me die for a third time? That's kind of a given if you're eternal as you claim, isn't it? Of course you will get to see my death – but it won't ever be at your hand, will it? Being nothing but hot air, after all…"

Kennedy looked angry then, glared. "You'll be laughing out of the other side of your face when Caleb gets here!"

Buffy sighed. "Just leave already." Fortunately, the First listened and departed just as quickly as it had first materialised.

**eieio**

It had taken an hour to calm everyone down after that.

Buffy would have to be a lot denser than she had been last time around to not realise that the Potentials – and everyone else – were more than a little demoralised after the death of Kennedy followed so quickly by the First's appearance.

She had briefly entertained the notion of giving a calming speech but that was being silly. Anyway, she couldn't face another long drawn-out speech that wouldn't change a thing at the end of the day.

While Buffy and Faith lived they were 'safe'! They would be the last to die, as the First had chosen to remove every last Potential before dealing with them. She frowned and looked around at the Scooby Gang as they sat together in the main office. "I've been thinking – if the First's aim is to wipe out the Potentials, Faith and then me, it must be something… do you think it's possible that there's a Prophecy just laying around somewhere stating that the Slayer – or her line – will wipe it out?"

That seemed to intrigue Dawn, Giles and Willow at least. It was Giles who spoke up first. "I haven't heard of anything but that doesn't mean that there isn't. It would certainly explain its behaviour if you're right." He pulled his glasses off and gave them a quick clean. "Is it something you think we should try and find?"

Buffy considered it for a moment then shook her head. "Not really any point. It's more an observation really – seems to be consider us a threat."

As one, the group looked up as Faith came into the room. The blonde smiled at the other Slayer. "Glad to see you up and about again. You okay?"

Faith smiled faintly. "Five by five, B. Hear I missed a party." She grimaced a little as she sat down in a nearby vacant chair, ribs protesting just a little.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Yup, First showed up to make its presence felt, dressed as Kennedy."

Faith's expression darkened. "Bastard."

Xander sighed. "I think we're all in agreement with you on that."

Buffy sagged a little as she looked around the group – they all looked so defeated. Probably just as defeated as she felt. And she'd seen that they could win this – WOULD win this! She pondered on what to do for a moment then looked at Giles. It was time to take a leaf out of Faith's book. "Giles, can you get Travers to come in here."

Giles looked rather taken aback and no wonder – Buffy spending time willingly with the Watcher was unheard of. He did what she asked though, pulled out his walkie-talkie that at present allowed communication around the building. Travers showed up in ten minutes.

**eieio**

Quentin Travers wasn't exactly thrilled at being summoned by the Slayer as if he was her servant but what choice did he have but to show up? She might take umbrage and throw him out and the First had shown no problem with killing them all to remove a threat. Best to stay on the Slayer's good side.

He did his best to look pleasant as Buffy laid out her plan – for the Slayers to take a couple of days off and apparently go party! That really was in bad taste though. "Miss Summers, I hardly think that now is the time to be taking it easy – if Patrol has gotten quiet, that means the evil doers are on the run and **that **means…"

"…that it is the perfect time to take a breather!" Buffy quickly cut across him, eyeing him fiercely to cut off any further objections. The older man was the first to look away.

Of course Travers didn't like it. It would leave the girls vulnerable and what about the Watchers and their work, restoring as much of the Library as they could remember? What about **him**?

Sensing that she had won this time, Buffy relaxed in her posture and tone. "Look, I'm not suggesting that they should leave town or get drunk or anything daft – just that for a couple of days, we all relax. Maybe even go out to the Bronze …that is nearly completely deserted… to do something normal as a group. At the end of the day, Quentin, they're young women who are going to, at the very least, risk their lives to save the world. I think we can afford to let them have a couple of days to relax beforehand, don't you?"

Travers knew when he was defeated. "You make a good point, Buffy. However, I must insist that not everyone goes to the Bronze – perhaps half one day, half the other," he paused, "and no alcohol. They need to keep their wits about them."

Buffy looked around the group and shrugged. "Seems fair." It was no more than she had been thinking herself, after all. "One Slayer will go to the Bronze, one will stay here." She looked at Faith. "You could do with a night of dancing first, by the looks of it."

Faith grinned. "Oh hell yeah!"


	38. Downtime

It was settled. A meeting was called, the Potentials and other Watchers were informed, all agreed to stay sober. As they couldn't agree who would get to go on the first night, they settled for picking names out of the hat.

As everyone retired for bed, Travers had to admit that Buffy had been right – though he wouldn't admit it to the Slayer herself – before the announcement, the air had been one of fear and defeat. Now though, it was one of anticipation. He could only hope that the next two days would go as smoothly as Buffy and her group seemed to think it would.

**eieio**

The next day was a strange one to be walking around the Initiative – all mostly quiet. Rather than the sounds of training, there were the sounds of people getting ready for a fun night out, giggling and chatting about this and that. Buffy smiled at just how young the girls sounded then – like girls of sixteen and seventeen. Her smile dimmed slightly. How she wished that there was no need for them to shoulder this ridiculously heavy burden, that none of them would have to risk their lives…

She couldn't dwell on that though – once they were fully-fledged Slayers, they would understand… and they would be completely equipped to deal with everything that came their way. Plus, they weren't alone. They would have a huge advantage of every Slayer that had ever come before Buffy. **That **was something to be proud of!

Buffy wandered into the main office, sat down on the rather comfy leather chair in front of the desk and lifted the phone and was pleased to hear a dial tone. She quickly dialled Robin. He answered on the first ring.

"Hi Robin, Buffy here. Don't worry – nothing major… Just thought you'd like to know that we have all relocated to the Initiative. Also, I know that it's short notice what with it being a weekday and all but I need a couple of days off."

On the other end of the line, Robin frowned. "Is that my official invite?"

Buffy blinked in confusion. "What?" She thought back on what she had said. "Oh right. Yep. Consider yourself officially invited. I'll have to bring you here though – it's kinda hard to find unless you know what you're looking for." She paused. "Spike'll be here. You realise that, right?"

Robin sighed. "Yes Buffy. I had expected that. I'll deal with it."

Buffy nodded in satisfaction. "Good. As long as your idea of dealing with it doesn't involve a room with a load of crucifixes nailed to the wall, that's good."

Robin blinked. Had the Slayer read his mind? How had she known the thought that had crossed his mind? "Wasn't planning on it."

Buffy snorted softly but he heard anyway. "Okay good. Now, pack up everything you want to keep – anything you don't need, I'd advise you to send out of Sunnydale ASAP."

She didn't feel up to explaining how, in the not-too-distant future, Sunnydale would be gone, so settled instead for a more logical reason: "Prepare for the worst, y'know? We're not all going to make it," she sighed heavily and rubbed at her forehead "though I will do my damnedest to ensure that the majority do!"

Robin nodded. "I can be ready to go in about an hour – I always travel light. As for school, don't worry about it. Seems like the kids and the rest of the faculty have started their summer holiday early."

Buffy snorted. "That's the Hellmouth for you – it erupts and Sunnydale's residents run away. Which, when you think about it, is admittedly a lot smarter than actually moving here in the first place so… kudos to them!"

As she was about to end the call, Buffy remembered her other reason for ringing. "Oh yeah, I nearly forgot… your Mum had a bag, Robin… the Slayer one? I'm going to need it."

Robin frowned in confusion. How had she known about it? Wait, she had the Watchers – one probably told her about it. "I was meaning to give it to you anyway. I'll have it ready when you come here later."

The two said their goodbyes and Buffy set the receiver back, leaned back in the chair and stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment until the phone ringing rudely knocked her out of her thoughts. Startled, she lifted it… The Initiative's finest would be there in a matter of hours to remove Spike's chip. Lovely. She sighed and headed out of the office to spend time with him.

**eieio**

Spike stared at Buffy. Had his lover gone crazy? "I'm sorry, what? I couldn't possibly have heard right, love because I just heard you say that you want this Chip out of my head!"

Buffy sat down beside him. "You heard exactly right, Spike. It has to go. You have a Soul now and that'll do more to keep you on the straight and narrow far more than a government-made chip ever will."

Spike shook his head, horrified. "And what if the First takes control of me again, Buffy? What if I kill again?"

Buffy wrapped her arms around him. "It won't matter. You wouldn't feel it while under its control. The Chip isn't any use any more. Besides, it was only ever meant to last for a short time." She leaned back and studied him for a moment. "They need to fix it, Spike. It's going to malfunction soon."

Spike frowned. "How can you be sure of that?"

The Slayer considered telling him everything then but pushed the idea aside – some day, when things had gotten back to normal, she would. Not now. "Riley told me. They're only meant to last a few months… just long enough to study the subject. Bearing that in mind, yours has already lasted far longer than it should have." She bit her lip. "I don't want you being hurt by it, Spike. You know what that thing feels like when it goes off. Imagine if it was continually backfiring…"

Spike shuddered at the thought as he wrapped his arms around her. "Can't they make it last longer?"

Buffy scowled. "Spike, look at me. **Look **at me!" Only when their eyes met, did she continue. "I trust you, okay? I know you'll be fine. I want that thing out of you… if nothing else; it'll be one less thing for me to worry about. Please Spike? For me?"

Like Quentin Travers the day before, Spike knew when he was defeated. "Okay love. If you're sure… when will they be here?"

"Tonight. In a few hours! Should arrive just as Faith and the group go out."

The vampire sighed and closed his eyes. "What if they mess up and dust me by mistake?"

The woman's expression darkened. "Oh, they won't. Or they'll have me to answer to!"

Spike smiled. "Good point… Well, how are we going to fill the time until then?"

Buffy grinned. "Oh, I have an idea or two…" She traced her tongue along the edge of his ear, smirking as he shivered.

**eieio**

As Faith was getting ready to head out, she was stopped by Buffy who surprised possibly them both by giving the other woman a hug. "Stay safe, okay? Don't let your guard down and for God's sake, don't let any of them near alcohol." She grinned then. "I don't think anyone would want to listen to Travers' lectures if they came back drunk."

Faith snorted as she hugged the woman back, finding it all rather strange. "Sure thing, boss." As she was freed from the hug, she pulled out her cellphone. "Fully charged, number of the main phone here programmed in as well as yours and the rest of the Scoobies, I'll call if anything goes wrong. In fact, just to be sure, I'll call every hour and let you know that everything's fine. You'll do the same, right? Call me if you need me? Those Initiative guys coming to see Spike don't exactly sound like a barrel of laughs."

Buffy's nose wrinkled. "No, they are definitely not but hopefully I won't need to call. Got your number in my fully charged phone too – and by the phone in the office. Hey, I just picked Robin up and he's setting up in one of the rooms. Would you take him with you? It'd probably do him good to spend some time with a Slayer who isn't dating the vampire who slayed his Mum."

Faith snorted. "So you're saying that in this instance, I actually have the moral high ground?"

Buffy laughed at the bewildered look on Faith's face. "Yeah. How's that feel?"

Faith made a face. "More than a little weird." She shook her head and changed the subject. "Sure. I'll take him… where is he?"

"Down the corridor, turn right, second door on the right."

Faith nodded and headed off to find the son of a Slayer. She was more than a little intrigued at the thought of him.

**eieio**

Faith knocked on the door and was pleasantly surprised at the voice that told her to enter. He didn't sound at all like a schoolteacher. That was a good start. She entered the room and for a moment, was rendered speechless by the god in front of her. "Wow."

Robin blinked. "Sorry?"

If Faith was the sort of person who could have been embarrassed, she might have blushed then. She didn't, just shrugged. "You're the son of a Slayer, right? I'm Faith – the other Slayer."

Robin nodded in understanding as he offered his hand to shake. "That would be me. "Hello Faith. Good to meet you…"

They fell silent for a moment and Faith spoke up. "Buffy seemed to think that you'd be a little more comfortable with me tonight as I am not dating Spike… I'm going to the Bronze with about half of the group. Do you want to come with us?"

Robin could only stare at her for a moment, surprised by her candour. "I… yeah sure. I'll need to give this to Buffy first – my hands were a little too full earlier with all my stuff. Maybe I should have let her carry some of it when she offered." He shook his head and smiled as he lifted up a bag that had been sitting on his bed. "Is there a vamp nest there, or something?"

Faith snorted. "Uh no – not this far into the most recent Apocalypse. Tonight is about relaxation, nothing more – a little dancing and fun."

Robin looked even more confused, if that was possible. "Is that wise?"

Faith gestured to the door as she started walking. Robin fell into step beside her when they were out in the corridor. As they walked to the main room to wait for the group, Faith filled him on in the reasoning behind the decision to party.

**Eieio**

Buffy stared at the contents of the bag that Robin had left in her possession before heading out with Faith and the group. It really was just that stupid shadow puppet thing. Nothing else. So each Slayer was given this – a chance to be stronger and less human… lovely. Why had she even bothered to ask for it anyway? Stupid!

**eieio**

Willow and Tara had been standing outside, hidden in the shadows but still able to see what was going on around them. They were keeping an eye out for the Government people who would come to remove Spike's Chip. Willow looked over at Tara. "I wish they would hurry up. I'm freezing."

Tara nodded and shifted closer, wrapping an arm around her lover. "Yeah, me too. I would love a hot bath. Not going to happen here, is it? I'm almost tempted to find a spell to warm the water up more. That's how bad it is."

Willow grimaced and that caused Tara to sigh. "It was just a joke, sorry. Bad joke, I guess. I didn't think."

Willow shook her head quickly and leaned in to kiss her girlfriend. "No, please don't apologise Tara. You shouldn't have to apologise for making a joke. No one should. Just… I'm still a little sensitive. I dread to think what I would have done if they hadn't stopped me in time – or if you hadn't pulled through."

Tara smiled understandingly. "I did though. That's the main thing. I'm here. With you. I love you Willow."

Willow smiled and nuzzled against her. "I love you too, Tara. Always." She pouted a little as Tara pulled away. "Something wrong?"

Tara rolled her eyes. "Just the bad guys showing up." She pointed to the car pulling up, quite obviously government property with it's blackness and tinted windows. "Subtle."

Willow snorted as the door nearest them opened and a man dressed in a black suit with black shades on got out. "Seriously?" She laughed softly and rolled her eyes as she pulled out her cellphone and called the main number of their temporary home to let Buffy know.

**eieio**

Buffy set the phone back a few moments later and looked at Spike. "They're here…"

Spike sighed. "D-day is upon us. Great." He sighed and stood up then moved over and wrapped his arms tightly around his lover. "You're sure about this?"

Buffy hugged back and kissed him. "I am. Don't worry Spike – it'll be fine. You'll be Chip-free soon enough, I promise." She took his hand and headed out of the room to meet whoever had been sent.

The two men set up in one of the labs in the base, which no one had been willing to venture into. Buffy was only allowed to stay long enough to kiss Spike once more, tell him she loved him and glare threateningly at the government workers. They didn't so much as blink.


	39. Drowning

Faith, Robin, the Potentials and a handful of Watchers had been in the Bronze for two hours, relaxing and having a little fun. Faith had faithfully checked in, pleased to hear that everything seemed to be going okay back 'home'. She had actually started to relax when a sudden scream rent the air.

The Slayer was on her feet in a second and rushing to the sound. It took what seemed like an eternity to make her way to the toilets. The sight that greeted her made her stomach churn. After kneeling beside the body and checking for a pulse but finding none, she turned to the nearest girl there; she couldn't find it in herself to talk calmly given the situation. "What the **hell **happened in here?"

Helen, the Potential in question shrugged helplessly. "I don't know Faith. I came in here, so desperate for a pee, y'know? The other toilets are gross or have no paper and I wasn't sure that there were any other in this place so I didn't want to rush off looking for another one and risk losing my place in line so I waited… and waited…"

Faith cut her off. "Helen seriously – can you get to the point?"

Helen huffed impatiently. "I WAS getting to the point – my point was that I had been waiting for **ages **when I spotted the first trickle of blood coming out under the door. I forced the door open and that's how she was. She just… killed herself! Why would she do that?"

Faith sighed heavily. "Round everyone up. We'll have to take her back."

As the young woman left the room, Faith looked around for something to wrap around the dead Potential's wrists to stop whatever blood remained from leaking everywhere. Her eyes finally settled on the towel by the sink. She moved over and grabbed it, tore it into makeshift bandages and got to the gruesome task. When that was done, she grabbed a load of toilet roll and cleaned the blood from the floor around them as best she could.

**eieio**

It only took Helen five minutes to get the message out to everyone. It took a further half hour to get everyone rounded up. As they left, Faith led the way, Robin walked behind her, carrying the dead Potential – named as Chloe – in his arms.

They arrived back to the Initiative just in time to see the Government officials leaving.

**eieio**

Buffy stood in the main office and stared at the sofa on which the dead body of Chloe rested – covered by a sheet at present. She had killed herself again. Why did she do that? Buffy had tried to single her out and talk to her but she hadn't wanted to talk. Now she was dead. She was dead and she had only had a small taste of what was to come. She had been right the first time – the girl **was **weak.

She immediately felt guilty for such a mean thought. Not everyone could deal with this sort of thing that easily, taking it in their stride. After all, hadn't she quit after the whole thing with Angel going bad?

Faith spoke to her then but she hardly registered it. "Uh huh." She couldn't take her eyes off the sofa.

**eieio**

Faith patted Buffy's shoulder then left the room: someone had to address the group waiting in the main room. If Buffy wasn't going to do it, that made it her job, she supposed.

The Slayer cast her eyes around the room and sighed. "I know you want to hear comforting words right now but I honestly don't have any. The truth is… Chloe was weak." She shook her head as this seemed to cause a sensation around the room. "I won't apologise for saying it. This **isn't **going to be easy; it's not a game; this is our real life and we have to deal with it. **We **have to be the ones to save the world from darkness. If anyone else feels that they can't deal, they should leave now. Save us some food and resources…"

Quentin Travers looked on consideringly then nodded. "Harsh. But fair." He moved up to stand beside the Slayer and looked at the group of women. "What Faith here said is, unfortunately, correct. Chloe was indeed weak." He straightened a little. "I believe however, that the rest of you are not. You will do what has to be done. I have worked with you all individually these last few months and I **know **that you have what it takes. Don't let what this girl has done dispirit you."

**eieio**

Buffy finally snapped out of it, averted her gaze from the sheet and with a scowl, left the room. She headed to the lab to see if Spike was awake yet.

She looked down at him as he lay on the cot and sighed wearily. Why wasn't any of this getting easier? After a moment's thought, she lay down on the bed too and wrapped her arms around him.

**eieio**

Quentin walked into the room set up as a library and headed towards Giles. "Ah Rupert, there you are. I'm sure you've heard of the latest… incident." He sighed and shook his head. "Such a waste of a life. It doesn't help that it's upset the other girls."

Giles looked at Travers uncomprehendingly. Was the older man actually worried? About the Potentials! "It was… unfortunate. The sad thing though, is that Faith was correct. Chloe was weak – she killed herself because she didn't want to die…" He shook his head and sighed. "I talked to her only yesterday – she seemed troubled – she said that she was fine though, refused to talk. How could anyone possibly help her?"

Quentin patted his shoulder. "Don't let it bother you, old boy. Sometimes, you have to realise that you can't help them all. They have to want help."

Giles sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right. Still…" His shoulders sagged. "Unfortunate that she would choose to leave this world on the day that we were trying to buck up the girls' morale."

Quentin nodded. "Indeed."

**eieio**

Michael was once again called into action to oversee the burial of Chloe – an hour after Robin had carried her into the initiative for the last time. She was buried next to Kennedy but it was a much quieter affair. It seemed that the majority of Potentials had taken Faith and Quentin's words to heart. Only the Scooby Gang – minus Buffy and Spike - and a handful of Potentials were at the gravesite.

After the rest had walked off, Faith remained for a few moments. Pondering the futility of it all. After a moment's thought, she wandered off to a nearby grave with fresh flowers on. She carefully slid one free with a soft apology and carried it back to the girl's grave. "Rest in Peace, Chloe. I hope you find the Peace you sought." She set the rose down at the top of the grave and walked off.

**eieio**

Spike awoke slowly and blinked a few times, bringing his eyes into focus. "Mmph degraphdu!" He rubbed at his face, knowing that hadn't made any sense. It was okay though. Buffy had heard him and was looking at him – that was all that mattered.

The freshly woken Slayer looked at him and smiled "Hi. You're awake… you feel okay?"

Spike considered. "Uh… yeah." He frowned. "You sure that they removed it?"

Buffy shrugged. "They showed me the Chip afterwards but I wasn't here. They wouldn't let me in to watch over them. It'd better be though, or there'll be hell to pay!" She leaned in and kissed him. "I guess there's only one way to know for sure – you'll have to try and attack a human."

The vampire grimaced at the thought of it. Since the Chip – and the soul, the only person he'd seriously considered attacking was Buffy and that was different. He hadn't meant any serious harm to her. Mostly. "Where's the irritating blonde kid? He'd do."

Buffy had to think for a moment. "Oh. You mean Andrew… he's working with a load of the Watchers, helping them re-translate an old text. He has a good head for languages apparently." She shrugged. "I'll go get him."

Spike sat up then after a moment stood on legs that were annoyingly not quite firm. "Sure, why don't we go pay him a visit?" He stretched the kinks out of his body and frowned. "I don't feel any different."

Buffy shrugged. "Guess we'll have to wait until we find him to see." She sighed as she remembered: "Chloe – one of the Potentials – is dead. She killed herself whilst out with Faith and the rest at the Bronze."

Her boyfriend looked alarmed. "She must have been under a lot of stress. Poor lamb." He was a little unsteady on his feet so Buffy moved over and wrapped an arm around his waist to steady him – also to reassure herself that he was okay and still in one piece. "I guess but it's not great for the morale of the rest of the group either. I mean, I feel bad for her but she couldn't have chosen a worse time… and just saying that makes me feel like an evil bitch, you know?"

Spike nodded and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, squeezing gently. "Unfortunately, you seem to be in charge of this little army, Buffy. You have to think about not just one person but the entire group. You wouldn't be doing your job as leader if you didn't think about the negative effect it will have on the rest of the group."

Buffy took at least some comfort in that. "Thanks."

**eieio**

Andrew stared at Buffy like she was insane. "You are **nuts**! Why would I willingly let anyone hurt me? Especially a vicious, blood-sucking vampire?" He looked quickly at Spike. "No offence."

Spike snorted. "None taken." He reached out quickly and smacked Andrew upside the head, tensing even as he did so, awaiting the pain… his eyes widened as none was forthcoming. "It's gone, Buffy. It's really gone."

Buffy rolled her eyes at Andrew's whimper of pain – Spike had barely hit him after all - just enough that the Chip would have activated if he had. "Good." She leaned in and kissed her love. "One less problem to contend with."

Realising that he wasn't going to get any sympathy, Andrew pouted for a moment then walked back to the Watcher who sat at the desk, goggling at Spike and Buffy. "Oh, didn't you hear about those two? It's not really surprising though, is it? They're both so super hot and everything."

Gladys managed to tear her gaze away from Andrew. "But… but… he's a **vampire**!"

Andrew nodded. "True, true… but he's a souled vampire."

Gladys couldn't suppress a shudder of distaste. "I understand now why Mr. Travers despairs of her." With a sad shake of her head, she turned her attention back to the text. After a moment of thought, Andrew shrugged and did the same.

**eieio**

The First glared at its minions, angry beyond belief. "This is **it**? You managed to rustle up one old bat? That's **IT**?" A growl escaped as it once more took on Kennedy's form. "Right now, I wish that I had an actual body – then I could break **your** damned bodies just for the satisfaction of hearing them break!"

Another growl escaped her. "Fine! Tie this stupid old bat up somewhere then go out and bring me back every human with a pulse that you can find! DON'T fail me this time!"

It watched them all depart once more and let out a despairing groan. "Ugh, where is Caleb? Caleb would know what to do automatically."

**eieio**

When Spike went outside for a smoke, Buffy wandered into their room and spotted the bag given to her by Robin and glared at it for a moment. "What are you looking at? I'm not using you so you can just lay there and look at me accusingly."

After a moment, she realised that she was talking to an inanimate object. "Great. Losing my mind not really the best of plans right now." She glared at the offending object. "This is your fault. Probably."

To save herself any more moments of insanity, she grabbed it up and went to find Faith.

**eieio**

Faith eyed the contents of the bag that Buffy had put in front of her dubiously. "So, this is going to take us somewhere else?"

Buffy shook her head. "Just you - if you want it to. This has to be solely your choice."

Faith frowned and touched the strange shapes. "Let me get this straight – these things slot together and when it starts spinning, the shadows it casts will open a portal?"

Buffy nodded. "Yeah, that about sums it up. Step through the Portal and it takes you to the first men who created a Slayer. There, they'll offer you extra power."

The brunette shook her head. "I'm not getting it – why don't you want to do it?"

Buffy shrugged. "I'm just not interested. I had my choice and decided against it. I'm offering you the same choice because it's the Slayer thing, apparently. Had Robin's mother passed the bag on, it would have come to us both eventually anyway."

The younger Slayer considered that. "Why did you turn it down? What if I go there and change my mind? How do I get back?" She couldn't help but be a little suspicious – what if this was Buffy's way of getting rid of her?

Buffy eyed her. "Don't look at me like that, Faith. I'm not trying to get rid of you. I told you – I've already chosen not to take that extra power so there would be no sense of me going with you. Anyway, I'm fairly certain that it's only designed for one person at a time. Look, the reason that I decided against it is simply that there are times already when I feel too aloof from mere mortals. I just don't think it would be the best choice for me. You have to decide for yourself."

When Faith continued to eye her warily, she let out a sigh. "The main guy will carry a staff. If you decide against taking the power – **if **you go - break it. It'll shatter, the portal will open once more and you can return. Meanwhile, I'll be here – again, if you go – to deal with the demon that comes through and return it." She watched Faith mull that over. "Do you really think that I would willingly become a Slayer down at this time? I really thought we'd settled our differences."

Faith sighed and conceded the point. "Sorry. Fair point… when would you expect me to go? If I decide to?"

Buffy shrugged. "Like I said – it's up to you. You have to be comfortable. Whenever you're ready, I'll be around."

Faith nodded slowly. "Can I think about it and get back to you?"

"Of course you can!" With a smile, the blonde headed out of the room to grab weapons for Patrol then went to see Spike.

"Hey, heading out to Patrol – wanna come with?" She grinned widely at him, knowing that violence would be just what his vampire would like right then – that was of course, if there were any demons or vampires to find and slay.

Spike grinned back at her, threw down the butt of his finished cigarette and stomped it under his boot. "Do you really have to ask?"

**eieio**

A/N: I do not personally feel that suicide makes someone weak. I feel sad to think that someone has reached such a point in their life that continuing with it seems like the hardest choice. The point is merely that I feel Slayers especially are meant to protect life – to them suicide would seem like the worst choice even though their human side would be able to feel compassion, their Slayer side would just not be so understanding.


	40. Interlude

This close to the current apocalypse, Patrol was once more predictably quiet – neither Buffy nor Spike were going to complain though. It gave them a chance to talk. They walked along holding hands and it felt almost… normal. Buffy couldn't help but smile. "We could be just about anyone, heading out on a date."

Spike smiled at the notion and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Just promise me that you'll stake me if I start reciting any poetry, okay?"

Buffy laughed and shook her head. "I'm sure that I'll love your poetry as much as I love you, William."

The vampire stopped walking then, forcing Buffy to do the same. She turned and looked at him quizzically. "What? What is it?"

Spike traced his fingers of his free hand down her cheek. "Say it again."

The young woman blinked in confusion. "What? William?" She said bewilderedly.

Spike rolled his eyes. "No – the other bit."

Her face cleared as realisation hit. "Oh. I love you, Spike – William… whichever name you prefer." She smiled, leaned in and kissed his lips lightly before pulling back a little to look at him, her eyes clouded with worry. "You believe me, don't you?"

Her boyfriend didn't answer immediately, preferring to stare into her eyes for a long moment. When he finally blinked, breaking the spell, he smiled. "I do." He engulfed his lover in a hug.

**eieio**

As someone knocked on his door, Robin looked up from the book he had been trying to read. He was glad of the distraction from thoughts of poor girls so desperate they felt that the only way out was suicide. With a heavy sigh, he set aside the unread book. "Come in."

As Faith entered the room, he couldn't help but register the fact that she was carrying this mother's bag – the Slayer's bag rather, he amended his thoughts accordingly. "Hello Faith. Can I help you?" He gestured for her to come in and take a seat on the only chair in the room.

Faith shrugged as she sat down. "Not really sure… maybe?" She lifted the bag into Robin's line of vision before setting it down gently on the floor by her feet. "Buffy brought this to me. Said she wasn't interested but it was only fair I had my chance too?"

Robin's brow lifted. Buffy had refused? Did she believe herself invincible? Even his Mom… He shook his head to clear the thought. "So what is it you want to know? Do I feel guilty for keeping the bag all this time? Perhaps if I'd passed it on, you would never have been called and your life would have been perfect..?"

Faith snorted, amused more than anything else. "I'm sorry – I thought we had been introduced. I'm Faith not Buffy." She smiled wanly. "I hadn't been Called, I'd probably be dead already. Sure it wasn't all plain sailing but I wouldn't change fate, okay?"

Robin held his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Truce – my apologies. How can I help you?"

Faith reached down, opened the bag and pulled things from it, setting them carefully on the table. "Do you know what all this stuff is?"

He nodded. "When Mom was still around, I hadn't a clue – just that it would make her a stronger Slayer. It wasn't until about thirteen years after her death that I got curious. I'd carried the bag with me wherever I went – it was all I had left of her, you know? It was only in College that I opened the bag, looked at it and got curious." He reached over and lifted one of the pieces. "These parts slot into the base and somehow it opens a portal."

Faith nodded, glad that Buffy hadn't lied. She hadn't really thought she had – mostly – but it was still good to get verification. Given that Buffy was dating the vampire that killed Robin's mother, she seriously doubted that the man would be convinced to lie for her. "Okay, good… did she ever use it?"

Robin set the piece down again. "No, she never got the chance – her Watcher was killed and apparently someone needs to be here for some sort of exchange that takes place while the Slayer goes through the Portal. Unfortunately the Watcher …died… the night before they had agreed to use it. My mom was gone before another Watcher could come to her. I guess that's why the bag got to stay with me for so long – it was forgotten." (_Just like me.)_

The Slayer sighed heavily as she started packing the pieces up again. "Great. I was hoping…" She stopped and closed her eyes for a moment as she sighed again.

Robin's curiosity was piqued: "Hoping what?"

She shook her head. "Forget it – sounds stupid."

Robin smiled. "There are no stupid questions, Faith."

Faith butted in before he could say any more. "… only stupid people, I know." She wrinkled her nose. "You sound like my kindergarten teacher."

Robin snorted. "Guess you can't always escape the clichés." He shrugged. "What was your question? Or what, rather, were you hoping?"

Faith sagged slightly. "Eh, Buffy said that she passed on the chance to be a stronger Slayer because she was afraid that it would make her less human. I was hoping you had seen your Mom after she had done it and could tell me if had made a difference – to how she was. With you… with everyone, really."

The man frowned and sat back on his bed to get a little bit more comfortable. "See? Not a stupid question. Not even close to stupid. What makes you worry about being less human?"

The Slayer gave him a look. "I'm sure that someone here – Xander maybe? Or Willow – told you about my not-so-glorious past." She sighed and ran a hand through her hair as he only looked blankly at her. It was surprising how crappy telling people about her past now made her feel, bearing in mind how little she had used to care.

"I was out slaying with B. I staked what I thought was a vamp – Buffy shouted a warning but it was too late. The guy in question was human. He worked for the Mayor so not that great a human but still human." She looked down at the ground, not wanting to see judgement in Robin's eyes. "Instead of trying to deal with it, I went back to the group and lied to them all – told them that it was Buffy who had done it. Everything fell apart after that… or maybe it all fell apart when my Watcher was killed but I covered better then. Who knows? Point is, it went downhill pretty fast. I spent time in prison later on and was trying to atone but then the First appeared back on the scene and here I am!" She just about managed a very tired looking smile. "That's the short version."

The young woman mulled over her thoughts in silence for a while. "There's a part of me that can't help feeling that if I'd only been a better Slayer, I would have known that the dude was human. For a long time I even wondered if maybe my not really knowing when a vampire was near was a failing in me connected with Buffy – that maybe her being alive weakened my powers… found out recently that she doesn't have that Slayer sense either. Guess we have gotten weaker." She risked a glance up at him. "No, I'm not passing the blame onto you. I'm just saying. What I did, I take full responsibility for – no one else."

Robin listened to all she said, Faith was amazed that he didn't seem to be repelled by what she had told him. Perhaps she had sugar-coated it? No doubt he would run a mile if she told him all the gory details. Yet a part of her didn't want to tell him if it meant he ran away. What was wrong with her? Was spending so much time with the rest of the gang making her soft? It was a rather disconcerting thought. "Y'know, for someone meant to be a teacher, you're doing a pretty good job of getting inside my head."

Robin smiled faintly. "It comes with the territory. Anyway, I'm not hearing anything so terrible here – yes, you did something bad and you lost your way but you haven't gone past the point of no return or you wouldn't be feeling remorse about it. Back to the subject though – you step through the Portal, you get stronger… why does that bother you?"

The young woman sighed again. "I guess it's the fact that Buffy was worried that it would take away her humanity – she's always been so much better than me so if she's worried, what the heck would it not do to me?"

Robin cut in then. "Faith, seriously – stop beating yourself up. Buffy is NOT better than you: She's just different. She had also been slaying longer than you so had more experience to register the human before you did." He made a face. "Every Slayer is different – every one has strengths and weaknesses just like the rest of us – don't for a moment think that Buffy is better than you. You don't know what you will achieve by the time your life ends – none of us know that. Fortunately. The only thing certain is that we're all here for a reason – even Spike." His face darkened at the mention of the vampire.

Faith wrinkled her nose. "Buffy's certainly got him on a leash, huh?"

Robin nodded. "Seems that way. First time he steps out of line though…" He didn't bother to finish. "So what are you going to do?" He gestured to the bag.

The woman shrugged. "Dunno. Buffy said I can go and listen to what they say then make up my mind. I guess that's what I'll do."

Robin nodded. "Good idea – better to make your own mind up rather than relying on anyone else to decide. Less regrets that way. If you need a hand with anything, I'm here."

Faith looked surprisingly relieved at his offer even though she couldn't accept it. "Thanks. Apparently it's a one person deal though – Buff said she'd be there for the exchange – another friendly face would definitely be appreciated though."

Robin smiled. "I can certainly be that friendly face. How about right now, we go for a coffee?"

With a nod, Faith followed him out.

**eieio**

As Kennedy looked at Caleb, she was almost pouting. "These idiots are driving me insane, Caleb! They won't get the damned thing out of that black stuff but I want it!"

Caleb sighed as he looked around at the assembled Bringers. "Okay, they're not the brightest but, they **are **dedicated to you… don't worry – I'm here now. We'll get it out soon enough. The sooner we do, the sooner we will wipe their vile forms from the face of this planet and you can one more take your rightful place!"

Kennedy relaxed and smirked. "Ah, you always know just what to say to please me."


	41. Errors of Judgement

Robin jolted upright, torn from his sleep by something. He grimaced as the pain in his lower back made its presence felt – he had been unfortunate enough to get tossed into a wall whilst rushing to protect a Potential who was about to get their throat ripped out. He really hoped that was the last vamp nest they would have to clear out for a time – they had been more violent than usual given the slim pickings around in town due to the upcoming apocalypse. He sighed and rubbed at his back, trying to ease the pain at least a little, scowled as he remembered that Ellen hadn't even said thank you.

He was distracted from his musings however, by a soft cough. Someone was in his room? He reached for the switch sitting on the desk. He winced as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light then looked at the waiting figure…

"Mommy?"

**eieio**

Faith was a little disorientated when she was woken by a knock on her door. Flicking on the light, she made her way over, keeping her eyes closed as much as possible to ward off the brightness at least until her eyes adjusted.

Opening the doors, her eyes widened involuntarily at the sight of Robin standing there, pale and shaken. "What is it? What happened? Are you okay?"

Robin shrugged. "Not sure. Can you spare a few moments to talk?" He could have gone to one of the many Watchers or Buffy or even one of her friends but the truth was that they made him feel a little… uncomfortable? Nervous? Or just plain not part of their group - either way, Faith seemed a little on the outside too so she had seemed the best person to go to.

The Slayer relaxed her battle-ready stance, realising no threat was imminent. "Sure – how about we go to the kitchen for a cup of tea? You look like you could do with something stronger but as you know, since what happened to Chloe, Travers has banned all alcohol from the premises."

Robin nodded in understanding even as the look in his eyes told the young woman he was only half-hearing her. She slid past him and made her way to the cafeteria.

Normally there were a few people here at least, regardless of the house as so many had come to them from different time zones and hadn't all adjusted but, for the moment at least, they were in luck and it was just them.

Faith grabbed the kettle and filled it from the tap, re-plugged it and turned it on. Robin stayed silent throughout. He didn't say another world until they were sitting opposite each other in the far corner of the room.

"I saw my mom tonight. Well when I say that I saw my mom, what I actually saw was the First masquerading as my mom – had her right down to a tee. Even the perfume she loved so much was there."

The Slayer shook her head. "You're really in the game now, Robin – The First only bothers with you if it deems you a threat. What did it say to you?"

"She… **it**… first informed me that Spike killed my mom. When that didn't have the huge impact it must have expected, it resorted to trying to make me feel guilty – saying that a good son would have put her killer out of its misery long ago. Why wasn't I doing that? Then apparently, if I wasn't willing to kill Spike, I should kill myself out of shame." He couldn't suppress the horrified shiver that ran down his spine at the memory.

Faith raised a brow. "Nice." She grimaced as she thought on that for a moment. "Well, that tells us two things, doesn't it? Both you and Spike will be playing important roles in future events or it wouldn't be so desperate to get you both out of the picture."

Robin sighed and rubbed his face with still shaking hands. "It visited you too, huh?"

Faith nodded and wrapped cold hands around the cup. "We need to turn the heating up in this place. It's freezing." She sighed and looked away. "Oh yeah – not that long ago. Showed up as my old boss. I wasn't in much better shape after it left than you are now, believe me."

Robin's brow lifted. "Did he or she give you a really bad reference or something?"

The Slayer looked back at him and snorted. "Nah, nothing like that – it was during my darkest time. Started off simply as a boss who paid well, ended up being the closest thing I ever had to a dad." She shrugged carelessly but Robin would have to have been blind to not realise that he had meant a lot to her. "What did he -it- say?"

Faith shrugged again. "It said I couldn't trust Buffy…"

The man sitting opposite considered that. "Is that why you're so wary of the portal and the chance she passed to you?"

She nodded slowly. "I guess so. I mean, I know that it was the First and that it's evil but then… so was the Mayor too but he cared for me, y'know? Hard to shake off the warning I guess."

Robin nodded in understanding as the two fell into a companionable silence.

**eieio**

As Tara and Willow lay on their bed, both wide awake, Tara let out a sigh. "We need to talk…" She reached for the light and switched it on, her eyes adjusting as she turned to look at her lover.

Willow sighed – she knew what was coming but had hoped she could put it off a little longer. "I can't do magic, Tara. I just can't! What if I turn into **that **again?"

Tara frowned and stroked Willow's cheek. "I wouldn't let it happen, you know that. Besides, I'm here aren't I? No reason for you to lose it… we need to try. Or else what's the point of us staying to help with the fight in the first place?"

Willow whimpered and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "I know, you're right. I just… I'm scared, baby."

The other woman nodded. "I know. That's completely natural – but I'll be with you. No matter what – just think of me as your anchor in the storm. I won't let you go." She smiled a little and gave her lover a lingering kiss."

As they parted, the redhead sighed but couldn't deny her girlfriend's words had the intended soothing effect. "Okay. I'll try…"

**eieio**

Dawn got up early the next morning as usual and headed to the kitchen. She liked a head start bearing in mind that she was now cooking breakfast for everyone. Not that anyone had made her do it – it had just sort of… happened.

Around the tenth set of waffles, the young woman's patience snapped. "What the heck am I doing? Why am I doing this? What, because I'm not a Potential, I'm only good for making food for them?" She shook her head in astonishment at her own behaviour, grabbed the last set of waffles when they were done, dumped them onto a plate and turned the machine off, grabbed the plate and left the room.

Two minutes later, she plopped down at the table where Andrew sat surrounded by books. "You know what? I'm sick of cooking – give me some research to do."

Andrew eyed the waffles on her plate – he was starving. He had worked until late, fallen asleep at the desk and had started working on the text the Watcher had given him the minute he had woken. It felt so **nice **to be needed for something! "I'll trade you a couple of books and this thing of Faith's for a waffle…"

"Done!" Dawn cheerfully did the trade and sighed happily as she took the proffered books – she was back where she belonged.

All too soon, she had a breakdown in front of her of just how the shadow thing that belonged to the Slayers worked (despite the fact that different Potentials had wandered in, in search of her – or more accurately, her waffle making skills. She had shooed them away). She set her research aside for now – Faith would show up at some stage and she would give it to her then. For now, she just wanted to continue working on what she was best at. She grabbed more books…

**eieio**

Willow took a deep breath as she sat down on the floor opposite Tara. The room was quiet – only she, Tara and the main group were there (minus Spike who was catching up on sleep). They were there for moral support as Willow tried her first spell since everything went so **black**.

The Sorceress bit her lip as she looked over at her girlfriend who gave her a comforting smile. "I can do this right? I mean, it's just a simple protection spell… nothing I haven't done before."

Taking a deep breath, Willow closed her eyes and centred herself before starting the incantation.

It didn't take long for everyone assembled to realise that for some reason, the spell had gone awry…

The First rose from Willow. "YOU ARE ALL GOING TO DIE! I WILL ENJOY HEARING YOUR AGONISED SC-" The entity's screams were cut short as, with a roll of her eyes, Buffy reached and grabbed the bowl containing the ingredients of the spell and smashed it to the ground.

As Willow was released, she jumped to her feet. "Oh my Goddess!" She dashed out of the room, Tara following quickly behind her to comfort.

It took a while to get everyone calmed down but eventually they did. Buffy spoke up. "Look, it's okay – it couldn't hurt anyone. All this tells us is that the First is getting desperate." She sighed. "Let's take a break, okay?" She cast her gaze over to her sister. "Seeing as Faith's ready to do this thing, how about you explain the Shadow Puppet thing to us?"

Dawn beamed with delight even as she worried about Willow. "Sure. I can do that." It was so nice to be useful for something. With that said, they all headed out, Buffy hanging back to talk to Giles as they did so.

"Hey. I know you're busy with the Potentials and Travers and everyone but, can I tempt you to come out with me tonight on Patrol?"

Giles looked at his Slayer in surprise. "I was just thinking the same thing. Is Spike too busy, I take it?"

The Slayer rolled her eyes but smiled good-naturedly. "Contrary to popular belief, Spike and I are not joined at the hip, Giles."

Giles snorted. "Thank Heavens for that. That would be awkward." He smiled at the young woman. "It's good to see you smiling again despite the circumstances we all find ourselves in. You haven't been this… alive… since… well, since before Angel if I'm honest."

Buffy nodded in acknowledgement. "I know that a vampire – souled or otherwise – isn't who you would have chosen for me but Spike **is **the best option. He's my best friend as well as the man I love."

The Watcher shrugged and smiled. "Honestly, who could expect you to settle for normal, Buffy? Certainly Riley – and the despicable Parker – were disappointments. The whole thing with Angel… was unfortunate. Perhaps things would have been different if Jenny…"

Buffy cut him off. "They wouldn't have been. Angel and I were each others first loves. It was all so intense y'know? Even if we had known of the curse, we might well have… ended in the same fashion." She shrugged. "The biggest problem is simply that, while his soul loved me, his demon definitely doesn't – couldn't! Spike though, he loves me in his entirety."

Giles nodded. "I know – and I'm glad for it."

**eieio**

Tara lay on the bed, her arms wrapped around her freshly showered lover. "I guess it was too soon. I should have done the spell with you maybe." She made a face. "We forgot to cast a Circle of Protection."

Willow sagged. "You mean that I forgot – I was the one doing the spell. I forgot. I can't believe I forgot something so basic! At least Buffy was there to break the spell." She said glumly. "I won't forget next time," she shuddered, "I feel so violated, Tara."

Tara nodded in understanding. "I know – it's at least partly my fault, whatever you say – I forgot about the Circle too. I was just so busy trying to offer comfort that basic preparation went out of my head."

Willow eyed the other woman. "It is **not **your fault. Not ever! No one else is to blame for my mistakes – it's just… I'll take it as a reminder for future spells." She sighed. "I should get dressed - Faith has that thing, right?"

Tara considered. "Dawn said that this is all pretty basic so I think that while we should go, we should let someone else take charge, okay?" Willow readily nodded in agreement.

**eieio**

As Xander and Anya sat in the cafeteria, lost in their own world for a few moments before heading back to the room to help Faith if necessary, they both missed the jealous glares being aimed their way by a couple of Potentials.

As the couple walked out hand in hand, Hannah turned to Camille. "I swear, Camille – I need to get out of here and get a man for a night – all this oestrogen is driving me nuts! The only available males are girly-boy Watchers or Andrew. I don't mind telling you that neither option does it for me."

Camille sighed. "Me either. I want to dance with a guy and have him hold me close and maybe even steal a kiss or two. It's been months, Damnit!"

Hannah's eyes lit up. "Let's sneak out and go to the Bronze! We never did get to go out – now's our chance, right?"

Camille frowned. "It's very tempting but probably not a great idea – what about the Bringers and vampires? Not to mention those creepy, old vamps?"

Hannah snorted derisively. "Oh come on, Camille – they're just stories to keep us in line, okay? That's all. I mean, Buffy claims that they're deadly and that she's fought them quite a few times but have you ever seen her looking any the worse for wear? If one Slayer can take one down, then I'm sure the two of us together can do it too."

Camille had to concede the point. "Yeah, you're right – they can't be any harder to dust than the vampires we've already fought." She grinned conspiratorially at the other Potential. "Let's do it!"

Hannah grinned right back at her as she punched the air in delight. "Yes! Let's go right now – they're all busy doing whatever they're doing so they won't be able to stop us."

The two young women giggled as they headed out, ready for some much-needed fun.

**eieio**

Dawn had to admit that it felt good to be useful again – for something other than making breakfast. She set up the shadow puppet thing as the group filtered back into the room. At a word from her, Buffy turned out the overhead light – the only light in the room now coming from the strange artefact.

All eyes and ears were focused on the young woman as she started it, explaining what it all meant – she was **definitely **meant to be a Watcher. This was what she excelled at.

Within moments of getting to the end of her explanation, the expected portal opened and all eyes turned from Dawn to Faith.

"Here goes nothin'!" The dark-haired Slayer took a deep breath and stood, took a look around the room, shrugged and walked into the void.

**eieio**

The group tore their gaze away from the portal as the door banged unceremoniously open. Buffy blinked and looked at Andrew as he stood there looking flustered. "Andrew, the sign on the door clearly states…"

"…do not disturb! I know. It's important though. Angela just informed me that two of the Potentials – Hanna and Camille – skipped out about an hour ago to go to the Bronze."

Buffy cursed – her first instinct was to go after them… her gaze drifted back to the portal though… the demon would be coming through at any moment now and it was deadly. She looked at Spike for help.

Spike nodded. "Go. Take Willow and Tara for back up. I'll take care of whatever comes through and send it back again." He gestured around the room. "The others will help too. Just go."

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment as a memory of the night Kendra died, flashed through her mind – but this wasn't a trap set by Angelus, with Drusilla appearing to kill, maim and kidnap – this was two silly girls wanting some fun.

Tara and Willow stood, the former catching her eye. "Let's go, Buffy."

Buffy nodded. "Take care everyone." She lifted the axe that had been sitting by her feet, ready for the demon trade-off, then headed to the door, closely followed by the two other women.

**eieio**

Hannah and Camille had made it to the Bronze without incident. They felt a little giddy knowing that they hadn't even had a hint of danger aimed at them. Hannah grinned at her friend. "See? I told you – nothing but stories to keep us in line."

Camille grinned back but sagged a little as they entered the building to discover that apart from a bartender, they were the only ones there. She peered down at her watch, shrugged and brightened. "Ah well – it's early yet. Let's get a couple of drinks then maybe a game or two of pool?" She smirked. "May as well put that Potential energy to something fun – pool's a kind of target practise, right?"

Hannah beamed at her. "Now you're getting it!" She fished around in her handbag for her purse then headed to the bar.

They were on their third drink when someone else entered the building. Three sets of eyes landed on the newcomer. The bartender with hopes that it would see the start of actual business worth being there for, the two Potentials because the newcomer was male, older and hot – very hot. Hannah was the first to speak: "Dibs."

Camille snorted. "You can't call dibs on the only guy in the place!"

Hannah shrugged nonchalantly. "I can and in fact, just did… you can have the bartender."

Camille looked over at the aforementioned greasy-haired, spotty youth and shuttered in distaste. "No thanks."

Hannah sighed dramatically. "Fine – we can share him… or let him choose. Whatever." She reasoned to herself that while Camille was around six foot with long, blonde hair, she also had a rather boyish figure. Hannah on the other hand, wasn't that tall but was blessed with curves in all the right places – and her long red hair had received more than its fair share of compliments in the past. She was going to make him hers! She sashayed confidently over.

**eieio**

Caleb smirked as the red-haired slut made her way over to him. At first he had thought he wouldn't find anyone in town to help him take the edge off – it seemed everyone had cleared out already… but here at his last stop, were two whores, ready and willing and ripe for the picking. Potentials too! Oh, his day had just improved dramatically.

**eieio**

Hannah was a little disappointed. She hadn't managed to get the gorgeous man to herself – he wanted them both. She could deal though – he was hot enough that he was worth it – hot enough that the dog collar he wore around his neck didn't bother her. If anything, knowing that they could tempt a Man of the Cloth just made everything that much hotter.

She had gotten the bartender to put on some music and then gave offered him fifty dollars to disappear for a while. She would share with Camille if necessary but having an audience was definitely a step too far!

The bartender, for his part, looked at the notes the woman offered then at the other man and recoiled a little – there was something not right about him. He opened his mouth to say as much to the woman but was silenced by her ferocious glare. He looked at Caleb once more, grabbed the money and fled. He'd come back later to lock up. Then again, he quit! His boss could come and lock up.

Hannah smiled and headed back to the other two. "Got rid of the Ugly – now we can party. Woohoo!" She ground against Caleb as she danced closer to him.

Caleb just managed to hold back a shudder of revulsion until the bartender left – he didn't want anyone stopping his fun, after all – not that he would let a puny human such as the bartender stop him but killing him would have taken away a little pleasure of killing the two females. The moment the door closed, features he had forced to remain placid finally showed their true revulsion at the women's behaviour. He grabbed the girl in front of him and wrapped his hands around her throat until he heard bones snap. He smirked as she struggled - her weak struggles only making the moment sweeter – then dropped her lifeless body to the ground uncaringly.

Camille froze as her mind tried desperately to take in what was happening – the hot man they had been dancing with was **killing **Hannah… her brain finally kicked and she turned to flee. Wasn't that what Buffy and the Watchers said to do? If your instincts said run, you **ran**!

Caleb caught her before she cleared the door, unfortunately, and dragged her back inside. Her death was slower than Hannah's but no less certain – and just as enjoyable for the twisted man. He sighed with contentment as her corpse slipped from his grasp.

Kennedy stood then and smiled. She had enjoyed the show very much - especially the sounds of the two women struggling. She almost purred as she stood in front of him. "I do so enjoy watching you work – you are by far my best creation!"

The door to the Bronze burst open before the former Priest could answer. Two pairs of eyes turned to look as Buffy barrelled in, quickly followed by Willow and Tara. The Slayer stopped in her tracks as she took in the scene – two dead Potentials… and Caleb. Her eyes widened in horror – she wasn't ready yet. Again. Whatever!

Caleb looked at the blonde woman and smirked. "Well, if it isn't the formerly-dead Slayer." He cracked his knuckles and prepared for a fight.

Kennedy frowned. "Don't kill her, Caleb! If she dies, I can't claim this world any more. She has to live until the last."

Caleb grinned. "Oh, I don't intend to kill her – just maim her. A lot."

For a moment Buffy looked around in confusion, wondering who he was talking to but then it clicked. "Oh. The First. Right." She sighed wearily and got into a battle-ready stance.

Caleb attacked… the man was surprised however, by the strength of what was, at the end of the day, just a woman. He would need to take more of the First's essence – and soon.

…and Buffy was surprised to find that he wasn't nearly so hard to hurt this time around. She could have maybe even have killed him then and there but she found she couldn't in that moment – he was still mostly human. She just couldn't do it. She found herself holding back, unable to give the fight her all.

While Buffy was lost in thought, Caleb landed a punch that sent the Slayer reeling. She gasped through pain and tried to shake off sudden dizziness.

Ever since the encounter with Glory, Tara carried around a pouch (just in case). She whipped it out now and sprinkled its contents on Caleb while he was distracted. Before the man could react or Tara could utter a word, however, Willow spoke the incantation - Caleb disappeared in a cloud of sprinkles.

Tara gasped and turned, fully expecting to see Willow collapsed on the ground, holding her head in extreme pain…

…Willow stood there, looking perfectly fine if a little rankled. "Couldn't let you go through the pain I went through last time – at least now I know I can do a spell when it counts." She wrapped her arms around her lover briefly as the other woman came over and hugged her. "We need to go." She looked over at the two dead bodies. "We can't take them with us right now."

Buffy came over to them: "Nice work. You okay, Will?" At Willow's nod, she turned and looked at the bodies of the two women and let out a heavy sigh. "No, we can't. Not right now, at least. We need to take care of the living – we'll come back for them with reinforcements once we're sure that Faith and the rest are all okay."

She cast one more glance at the two bodies as they left the building, in a hurry to get back to the Initiative to ensure that everyone was okay. This wasn't a decision that sat well with her but someone had to make the hard choice – at that moment, it was up to her. She put it out of her mind for the moment as she looked at Willow. "Where did you send him?"

Willow smiled sheepishly. "Never did get around to working out that particular kink, sorry."

Buffy laughed and shrugged it off. "Hopefully wherever he is, he ends up in a world of pain."

**eieio**

Caleb growled as dust was sprinkled on him. "What the..?" Before he could finish the question, he felt himself disappear and reappear again. He looked around quickly and realised that he had been teleported… **somewhere**.

Half an hour later, he had ascertained that he had been teleported to the next town. He growled as he broke into and stole a car to get back to Sunnydale. "Witch bitches are going to pay for that – I'll gut them like fishes… feed their innards to each other!"

**eieio**

Faith walked for what seemed like years but finally she stood before the first Watchers – she couldn't deny that having her power strengthened was tempting but the moment the leader signalled to the others to capture her, and an essence was released, she could not just stand there meekly and accept that fate. She fought the two men who were a lot stronger than they looked.

The leader frowned. "Why do you fight us? You are weak, Slayer – only a pale imitation of a true Slayer!"

Faith growled as she dodged a sever uppercut. "Always comes back to Buffy, huh?"

The elder looked confused for a moment. "Ah – the other… she too is only a pale imitation. You must allow this – to be strong! If you expect to fight the First and live through it, you need what we offer!"

Faith had had enough! She gave her Slayer strength full rein and took the two Watchers out, walked up to the old man and snatched his Staff. As Buffy said, it ended it. "No thanks!"

The next thing she knew, she was back in the room, staring at the group as they threw a rather battered looking demon through the portal. Come to think of it, they didn't look much better. "Looks like I missed a party."

Giles gave the Slayer a look. "Yes, Faith. It was fun and frolics whilst you were away." He sighed and shook his head, glad to see the Portal closing. "How did it go?"

Faith shrugged. "I listened, they offered me Power… if I was willing to be impregnated by the essence of a true demon." She wrinkled her nose. "I decided to give that one a miss, strangely enough. I'm messed up enough as it is, right?"

Buffy came running into the room moments later, followed closely by the two women. The three looked relieved to see them all there and intact - for the most part. Once she was sure that Dawn and the rest were okay, Buffy barrelled into Spike's arms and hugged him tight. "We were too late – Caleb got to them."

Spike hugged her. "You did all you could, love. Don't blame yourself." He sighed and nuzzled his face against her hair. "I take it we need to go and bring them back?"

Buffy nodded mutely. Hearing that, Giles looked around the room. "Never a moment's peace. Now seems a good a time as any, right? I'll go with you both."

The Slayer and Vampire followed the Watcher out of the room while the others gathered everything up.

**eieio**

A/N: Chapter forty! I feel like I should celebrate – perhaps I should get Xander over to do his Snoopy dance? LOL Originally I was aiming for forty chapters so I've now met my original goal. Typically, the story has become bigger than I intended. Saying that, it's drawing to a close now so maybe another five chapters? Definitely no more than fifty! Definitely. :)


	42. Wake Up

Buffy opened her eyes and was immediately hit with a strong sense of bewilderment and 'wrongness' – she was at home, in her own bed. Going by the décor, it was around the time that she and her mom had first moved to Sunnydale… ah, a dream.

She sat up and looked around, trying to make sense of just why she would dream of **this **when she became aware that something was buzzing and had in fact been doing so since she woke up…

The young woman finally registered that it was the alarm clock by the side of her bed. With a sigh, she reached across and switched it off… just as Joyce came into the room.

Before Buffy could say a word about how good it was to see her, her mother gave her **that **look. "Buffy, what are you doing? You slept in, didn't you? Didn't you hear your alarm? Or did you forget to set it?" The woman sighed heavily. "Buffy, you are going to be late for school…"

**eieio**

Buffy awoke from the dream and sat up in bed – she was in the Initiative, Spike sleeping peacefully at her side. She was definitely awake this time. She sighed as she pushed her messy hair back from her face and flopped back down on the bed and tried to get back to sleep.

Ten minutes passed, though it seemed like a lifetime – it always did at four in the morning. With a heavy sigh, she had to concede that she was not going to be joining her lover in sleep again that morning. The Slayer pouted and sat up. After standing and rearranging the covers around Spike, she decided to head to the training room.

Buffy had been working out for ten minutes when she felt a malevolent force appear in the room. Spinning around, she was greeted by the sight of… herself. "Wow, if I really look like that, I need to get my hair done soon." She scowled and eyed the offending hairdo the First was currently wearing.

The First blinked – why was the Slayer not reacting as she should? She should be afraid, yet she was complaining about her hair! With what could only be called an angry snarl, the form changed to that of the deceased Kennedy. "You're all going to die - you know that, right?"

Buffy snorted. "How? You can't even hurt us – no physical form. Couldn't even cause a shiver down my spine! Don't even start me on Caleb or the Brin-"

The First cut her off. "Oh, I'm not talking about Caleb. He may be my right arm but even should you somehow manage to defeat him, I don't need an arm – I've got an army!"

The Slayer cast an incredulous glance at the First – was it really giving the same speech as before? It seemed so. She decided to go with it for then anyway. "An army of vampires. However will I fight-"

Kennedy glared at the blonde. "Every day our numbers swell. But then you **do **have an army of your own. Some fifty-odd pimply-faced girls who don't know the pointy end of a stake." Kennedy smirked, her tone just dripped sarcasm as she spoke again: "Maybe I should call this off."

This was the speech that had triggered Buffy's brainwave the last time around. This time around, she realised that it was a lot like the time that Glory came into her home to tell her that she didn't have the power. Truth was, if Buffy had had no power then, Buffy wouldn't have continued to live but she had something that the hellgod needed. Seemed the same thing was true here too – something about her specifically had allowed the First to get a stronger foothold on their reality - apparently what Giles and Anya had told her last time around was true… if Willow and the gang hadn't brought her back from the dead, the First wouldn't be here right now. She was the Key.

She pushed the disturbing but useless thought aside. "Have you ever considered a cool name? Being little more than a ghost and technically powerless… how about 'The Taunter'?"

Kennedy glared at her. "I will overrun the Earth. When my army outnumbers your pathetic humans, the scales will tip."

Buffy cut It off with a sigh. "Talk on. I'm not afraid of you!"

The First snorted. "No? Why aren't you in the arms of your dead lover, huh? Oh right… he can't help you. Nor Faith, nor your friends…. Definitely not your wanna-slay brigade – not one of those girls will know real power unless you die. You'll fail them, Buffy. Just like you failed me!"

Buffy eyed the other coldly. "You're not Kennedy."

The First snorted. "You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? I am though. Oh, I am! I feel her desire for your red-haired Witch and I share it," she smirked evilly, "I might even enjoy her death more than yours."

Buffy had been about to respond when the door opened and Faith stepped into the room. When she turned back to continue the conversation, the First was gone – or at least gone from her sight! She sighed and turned her attention back to the younger woman. "Faith… just the person I wanted to talk to – feel like doing a little damage right now?"

Faith considered for a moment. "No offence B, but I'm not really prepared to be beat down by you only to have to take time off to heal – not this close to the Apocalypse."

The older woman actually threw her head back and laughed before shaking her head. "Not me. Some Bringers. Mostly."

The brunette relaxed. "Oh. Cool… count me in."

Buffy grinned. "Okay good – collect weapons, meet me at the front door in twenty." With a nod from the other woman, Buffy headed out of the room. First stop, her room to write a note for Spike. She contemplated waking him so he could keep an eye on things but he hadn't been getting a lot of sleep lately so may as well let him when he could – someone would wake him if they needed him. With that thought in mind, she headed to Willow and Tara.

**eieio**

It was a sleepy-eyed Willow who opened the door to the Slayer. Buffy smiled apologetically. "Sorry Will. Didn't really want to wake you, it's just that Faith and I have to go and collect something important. Right now! I know that the Watchers' protection spell appears to be working for this place so far but I was kinda hoping that you and Tara could double-check? Just until we get back…"

Willow frowned then sagged a little as she sighed. "Well… I mean… of course. Hope we don't need to do anything but Tara and I can certainly check it out – and if necessary add our strength to it." She studied her friend. "You two aren't about to do anything reckless, are you?"

Buffy smiled, leaned in and gave the redhead a hug. "No more reckless than usual. Don't worry – we'll be fine. Back here before you know it."

Willow sighed as the hug ended. "What about Dawn? Could you go and see her before you go? She's probably in the research room with Mabel – you know that new Slayer from Ireland? She doesn't seem that keen on the fight but boy, does she like to research! Makes me feel old and slow."

Buffy laughed and shook her head. "You're not old or slow, Willow. You don't need to worry." They talked for another few minutes then Buffy took her leave, heading off in search of her sister.

**eieio**

It took a good ten minutes to find Dawn – she wasn't in the Research room or her own room. She was in fact in Mabel's room, talking about boys. Naturally. It shouldn't have taken her so long to track her down as it had been the next logical choice, it was just that Buffy didn't know where Mabel's room was. Finding it had involved finding an awake Potential who spoke English. That, as it turned out, had taken longer than she would have liked.

The sound of her sister's laugh, emanating from the room proved easily enough that Jenny had been right enough about the room. She knocked on the door and waited. A moment later, the door was opened by the pretty, red-haired Potential in question. "Hey Mabel… can I have a word with Dawn?"

Her sister came out but before Buffy could say a word, Dawn had tetchily informed her that as of yet, Mabel had not adjusted to the new time zone and couldn't sleep. As she had had a nap earlier in the day, Dawn too was wide-awake so why couldn't she spend the time with her friend?

Buffy sighed. "Dawn, I'm not here to pick a fight, okay? I just wanted to check that everything was okay with you."

Dawn resisted the urge to snort at that. "I'm fine, Buffy. I'm just chatting to my friend." She decided to change the subject before a fight could commence. She gestured to the bag in her sister's hand that she usually carried on Patrol. "Are you going out?"

Buffy blinked at the conversation change but nodded. "Faith and I are going on Patrol. Don't worry - I've said to Willow and Tara so they are going to check the Protection Spell is secure. Of course Spike's here too."

The younger woman couldn't resist rolling her eyes at that. "Of course we'll be fine, Buffy. Even **I** can handle weapons now thanks to the lessons with the Potentials." She smiled widely. "I'm certainly better than Andrew and the newer Potentials," She cast a glance over to Mabel. "No offence."

The young Irish Potential smiled easily and held her hands up. "No offence taken whatsoever. I don't think I'm meant for this life. I get squeamish at the thought of killing even a fly."

Buffy and Dawn both smiled a little at that. Dawn continued: "Travers still isn't happy about me being there even though I'm only training for an hour or so each day…"

Buffy snorted. "Travers can go to Hell and swivel on a pitchfork shoved up his ass for all I care! You have every right to be there – to know how best to defend yourself."

The two younger women laughed loudly at that. Dawn shook her head. "Spike has really rubbed off on you, hasn't he? I like it!" She gave her sister a hug. "You should go. Stay safe, okay?"

Buffy nodded as she hugged back then headed out to see Faith.

**eieio**

Faith pulled back from the open door and looked at Buffy. "Given that there's thirty Bringers in there, looking like they're lying in wait, I'm thinking we've lost the element of surprise."

Buffy shrugged nonchalantly. "No biggie – remember the time we took out the nest of fifty vamps whilst Giles and Wesley stood back and watched..?"

The brunette smirked. "You mean the time the stake got knocked out of your hand and I had to save you from that vamp sticking its fangs deep into your neck? Can't say I do."

Buffy sighed and touched the fingers of her right hand to the scars of the bite still visible if one knew what to look for. She had lost track now of just how many vampires had actually tasted her blood. She shook the sombre thought off and stuck her tongue out at her friend. "I was having an off day – hey, at least you were there, right? Thanks for that."

Faith looked a little taken aback – when it had happened, the older Slayer had been huffy, claiming she had the situation under control. Seemed she wasn't the only one who had done some growing up. "No sweat." The brunette nodded to the door. "Back to the present … you sure this is worth it, B?"

Buffy nodded and lifted the sword in her hand. "It is." She paused and lowered the weapon and looked over. "You ready for this? Seriously, this isn't going to be easy. The Bringers, fine but, I imagine that Caleb is there… if you're not up to it just yet, tell me now. I don't want you getting hurt because I was reckless."

Faith could only stare at her for a moment. Twice in less than a minute, Buffy had surprised her. "You've got my back, right?"

Buffy nodded. "Absolutely. I plan for only two of us to leave this place tonight. You're coming out with me if I have to carry you – you'd better be alive or I'll kill you, got that?"

Faith laughed and nodded. "Gotcha. I've got your back too. Let's do this!"

The two Slayers rushed into the room…


	43. Idiot

Xander was fairly certain that he was an idiot – he was also even more certain that the two women he was currently following would say exactly the same thing if – or more honestly, when – they realised that he was doing so. For a moment he worried about that but shrugged it off. He had been heading out of his and Anya's room to get a drink when he had heard Buffy talking quietly but urgently with Willow.

It wasn't that he had actually intended to spy or eavesdrop but the urgent conversation had stopped him from walking out and interrupting. Hearing that Buffy and Faith were heading out on their own, he couldn't help but worry.

He had slipped quietly back into the room when the duo's conversation ended and quickly pulled on some clothes. He had then made his way out of the room quietly, out of the Initiative, following the two women at a careful distance – not like he thought that he could help if the two Slayers were hurt but… he could get them help, right?

He sighed as he was briefly reminded of the time he had followed Buffy only to discover her hanging out in the arms of Angel. Boy, had that gone horribly wrong!

He had been following for about ten minutes when that thought struck him – nothing good could come of following, could it? It certainly hadn't then, that was for sure. Also, there was the fact that he was walking through **Sunnydale **without a weapon; and the only people who could help him if he got into trouble were up ahead and unaware of his presence. Smart.

Those two thoughts almost had him turning and heading back to the Initiative but that wouldn't work out either, would it? He could just as easy get attacked heading home. **If **he was to be attacked that night, he figured it was better for it to happen when he was (hopefully) within hearing distance of the Slayers.

He resolutely walked on, keeping one eye on the two women as the other kept an eye on his surroundings for potential danger or something that could be used as a weapon.

**eieio**

…Which was how he came to be standing outside the Vineyard, watching carefully as the women fought, his mobile phone in hand, ready to call for backup if it seemed the two were in over their head.

**eieio**

It was a rather the worse for wear duo who made it deeper into the Vineyard but they made it all the same – the injuries they had sustained appeared to only have spurred them on rather than slow them down any.

They left forty two dead Bringer bodies behind them – not that they were counting, but Xander was. As he followed cautiously after them, he wondered idly just who would dispose of the dead bodies. "Thankfully not in my job description."

He snorted at his whispered comment – he had helped bury more than one body in his time. Shame really that not all demons went **poof** when they were made nice and dead. Still, forty two bodies would be pushing it. He shook his head to clear the wayward thoughts and continued after Buffy and Faith.

**eieio**

Caleb stood in the main room, in the middle of a ritual that imbued him with the First's strength, when he became at least dimly aware of the sounds of fighting near the front of the building.

He smirked as he realised that the incredibly dumb blonde Slayer had finally picked up on his none-too-subtle hints and had brought everyone to the Vineyard. He frowned slightly as he realised the sounds of fighting were getting closer.

He scowled as the Ritual ended prematurely when his concentration snapped – he could steal added strength he had received but it was less than it should have been… While it might have taken them longer to take the hint, he hadn't expected them that night so he was caught on the hop and the Bringers that were meant to be here for this confrontation were not actually there.

Caleb's scowl turned into a smirk after a moment or two – as if that stupid bitch could possibly be a match for him and his boys - not when they had the power of the First on their side! On his own, he was stronger than any **girl** but with the Bringers… they didn't stand a chance!

The evil man headed in the direction of the approaching footsteps, surprised to realise that only the two Slayers had come. He rallied quickly though and smirked. "Come to meet your deaths, girlies?" He made a show of looking down at his wrist, even though he wore no watch. "You're a little earlier than I expected despite all the hints I've been dropping…" He shrugged. "Ah well, no can say I'm not flexible…" He attacked.

**eieio**

As Xander watched from a distance, he had to wonder just why he was still there – if the duo could take down forty two Bringers, they were unlikely to have a problem with Caleb, were they? He shook his head, feeling a little redundant as he continued to stand there. "Heh, maybe I can get a job with Travers now that I'm a 'Watcher.'"

He grinned at his own weak joke then clapped a hand over his mouth as he realised that he had spoken out loud. He relaxed after a moment though as the Slayers clearly didn't notice him or his slip-up.

**Eieio**

The Slayers might not have noticed Xander's presence as they were lost in the fight with the ex-preacher but alas, the aforementioned man did. He looked up, his eyes narrowing as he realised just who it was: the pathetic excuse for a male who 'saw everything'.

The dark haired man rallied his strength and shoved the two women away. As he moved away, heading to the door, Faith grinned and relaxed. "That's right – run like the scared rat you are!"

Caleb wasn't running of course – at least, he wasn't running away. Buffy froze as she saw Xander ahead of him – ahead of Caleb – and realised the older man's intention. "**NO!**"

Faith had been grinning widely until she head the blonde's fear-filled scream. She blinked in confusion. "Uh, Buff… we want him to go, remember?" She looked back at the retreating figure only to realise that it was no longer retreating. Her eyes widened in horror and she cursed loudly as she realised that the evil man had pulled someone into his arms… worse, that that someone was someone she knew. "Xander!"

It took no time at all really… Buffy had snapped out of her shock in seconds - ignoring the ice in her veins where blood should be, she rushed forward.

**eieio**

Caleb smirked down at the boy in his twisted embrace. "You're the one who sees everything, right?" He snorted and tightened his hold around Xander's throat. "Guess I'll have to fix that."

**eieio**

Buffy was moving too slowly. She was moving as fast as she could, yet time had slowed down – for her it seemed. She could only run and watch in horror as Caleb's hand moved from her friend's neck, the thumb moving inward…

**eieio**

Xander had been scared when Caleb had grabbed him but not bone-deep scared. Buffy was there, she wouldn't let anything happen to him – he could see her running towards them even now. For a moment, he assumed that was why Caleb's hand was suddenly moving away from his throat – the ex-preacher was letting him got in favour of protecting himself.

He grinned as he realised that Buffy had saved the day for him again… only for an anguished scream to be torn from him a heartbeat later as Caleb's thumb pressed hard and deep into his right eye.

Buffy hadn't saved him this time.

**eieio**

Caleb almost purred at the sound of the boy's screams. "Nice. Real nice." He wriggled the thumb around, enjoying the screams and obvious pain immensely.

It was only the fact that the blonde was nearly upon them that caused him to release the other man but he couldn't hold back a wide grin at the popping sound his thumb made as it slipped free from the damaged eye. "That was **fun**."

He shoved the screaming idiot at Buffy, forcing her to drop the weapon she had raised to instead grab her friend and save him from even further injury. Caleb used the chance to rush past and head downstairs to the main room once more.

**eieio**

Buffy grabbed her friend, holding him as they both fell to the ground. Some part of Xander reacted to being 'safe' with his friend and mercifully, he blacked out.

Faith arrived beside them, dropping down beside them and cushioning the blow as they fell. "Fuck! Xander… what the **hell** is he doing here?"

Buffy was stunned. What **was** he doing here? He must have heard them in the Initiative somehow and followed – surely no one would have sent him here on his own and apparently unarmed.

The blonde scowled at the irrelevant thoughts – they had to go… Xander needed urgent medical attention. She stood up then, stooped to lift the unconscious man but paused… there was still the matter of the Scythe.

After a moment of indecision, she straightened and looked at the other Slayer. "Get him to the hospital, Faith!" It wasn't a request.

Not liking the idea of leaving Buffy to deal on her own, the younger woman started to object but the blonde was having none of it. "Faith, there's no time. I need you to take Xander to the hospital now… even if there's no one there who can help, I'm sure there'll be medical supplies that we can use to lessen the pain. Go okay? Please… I'll be fine but just go!"

Faith was still reluctant to leave the other woman – Caleb had been a challenge for them both… would Buffy be okay? One look at the older woman though, she stopped trying to argue. "All right, fine. I'll take him and come back here when I'm done. Though hopefully you'll be on your way back to the Initiative by then and that dickhead will be toast."

Buffy shook her head. "Oh, he'll be toast all right. Just head back to the Initiative. I'll see you there." After a nod from Faith, the younger woman lifted Xander carefully and headed out of the building. Once Buffy was sure they were gone, she took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and turned towards the room where she knew Caleb would be and started walking, pausing only briefly to lift a sword dropped by one of the Bringers.

**eieio**

As Buffy walked into the room that housed the Slayer Scythe, she experienced a sense of Deja-Vu. She shrugged it off and walked further in, stopping when she spotted Caleb, the Scythe behind him. "Aw, you've been trying to get it out of the black goo for me, I see. You really didn't need to. I can get it myself."

Caleb snorted as his gaze moved from the Slayer to the weapon briefly. "Over my dead body!"

Buffy smirked. "I was so hoping you'd say that." She charged at the man, sword ready…

**eieio**

Caleb was more than a little surprised when Buffy had appeared again – he had assumed that they would take the pathetic boy to the hospital so had been engaged in conversation with the First. He shrugged and sighed almost melodramatically. "I know you wanted her alive but she's **really** annoying… how about I put her into a coma?"

'Kennedy' frowned in thought then grinned in a much more evil way than the woman whose form the First had taken could ever have managed in life. "I will allow it." It disappeared then from view, not wishing to distract its minion.

**eieio**

Buffy rolled her eyes. She couldn't hear the First's side of the conversation but she got enough of the gist of it hearing what the dark-haired man was saying. "You really have no clue what you're dealing with." She advanced on him and swung her sword as soon as she was close enough.

Caleb jumped back and away from the sword just in time but his eyes widened for a second as the sharp blade sliced hair from the side of his head. "Bitch. You'll pay for that."

Buffy grinned almost ferally. "Doubt it. You'll pay for Xander though." She ducked easily out of the way as the man aimed to punch her in the face. The Slayer chuckled as this time he wobbled due to having put to much force behind the attack. "Sloppy."

She paused for only a heartbeat before reaching forward, the sword in her hand clattering to the ground as she shoved the man off to the side. Hard.

**Eieio**

As Caleb was shoved to the ground, he let out an undignified and rather effeminate squeak. By the time he stood again, Buffy was standing in front of the weapon. He did his best to look unruffled, snorted loudly. "Oh, go ahead. – as if a weak **girl** like you could possibly get it out..!"

The ex-preacher paled slightly as Buffy reached forward and, with minimal force, pulled the Scythe out of the thick goo. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought she was pulling it free from something as soft as butter. "Well… damn."

Buffy smirked and looked at the man. "Now… where were we?" She grinned and advanced toward him, ready to take the hateful man out.

For the first time in this confrontation, Buffy could see that Caleb was looking more than a little unsure of himself. Good.

Before Buffy could use the Scythe and take him out however, the First reappeared in the room. This time the Slayer could see it quite easily. This time though, it wore the face of Spike. "Oh, I wouldn't do that, luv… you've got more important things to be dealing with right now… your pathetic little group of wannaslays for one… They're about to go boom!"

Buffy's eyes widened as she let that sink in. For a moment she just stared then shoved past Caleb, heading out as fast as she could.

**eieio**

Caleb growled and moved to follow her but the First moved in front of him, having taken on the guise of Kennedy once more. "Let her go, Caleb."

The man shook his head. "She's not leaving here with that!"

Kennedy practically scowled. "I said let her go. You can collect it off her later – once you're stronger. It'll be more fun for us both then."

"Fine."

**eieio**

Buffy ran.

**eieio**

A/N: I actually had this chapter all planned out before I'd even finished the previous one but no matter how many times I tried, I couldn't get it written. Finally, I got the inspiration necessary… and the story went off on a huge tangent. Poor Xander. :/


	44. Run

Buffy burst out of the Vineyard; Scythe tightly clasped in her hand as she headed towards the Initiative. She knew that there was a possibility that the First's words were nothing but a bluff but she couldn't afford to take that chance – not if she didn't want a lot of deaths on her hand.

Given that they had previous form, she had to assume that they had planted a bomb – it would get through the magical defences after all but who could have planted it? Surely not one of the Potentials! Yet the only people who could get in were the Gang, the Potentials and the different Watchers.

Buffy's expression turned grim. She knew that she could trust the Potentials that she had met before. She wouldn't even DREAM of questioning any of the Gang – that included Robin and Faith, obviously. Certainly not Travers… which only left one of the damned Watchers. Which one, though?

A growl escaped the Slayer as she realised she would never make it in time – she just couldn't run fast enough. Wouldn't she be wasting valuable time? Why the heck wasn't she able to get the hang of driving, for Gods' sake?

Not for the first time, she cursed her aversion to all things technological. If she had a mobile phone… pushing the thought aside, she briefly contemplated breaking down a door of a house to use a phone but knowing her luck, the house she broke into would not have a phone anyway. More likely, the owner had left already and cut off the phone. No point wasting time trying.

As the blonde ran, she kept an eye out for a phone box, skidding to a stop a minute later as one came into view. Rifling in her pockets, Buffy found only a dollar. She shrugged and inserted it into the slot and quickly tapped out the number for the initiative.

**eieio**

Giles jumped a little as the phone rang – he had been trying to research information about the First but had apparently fallen asleep at the desk. He groaned and straightened his glasses before picking up the receiver. "Hello?"

The ex-watcher's brain might have been a little slow from sleep but it was quickly sped up by the urgency in Buffy's voice. "Giles! Good… get everyone out! Get them out right now! Don't use the elevator – get them out the stairs. Don't ask questions – there's no time, just do it! Tell Anya that Xander's with us." She hung up.

The man blinked and stared at the receiver as he pulled it back from his ear for a second, bemused but shrugged it off and stood. Whatever was going on, it sounded urgent. He moved out of the room and looked around, trying to think of a way to rouse everyone but drew a blank.

He cursed as he looked around, tried to gather his thoughts… what would he do in school in the same situation?

Right… Fire alarm. Good! He rushed down the corridor until he spotted one of the red boxes, broke the glass and cringed as the loud siren assaulted his ears. It didn't take long for everyone to start pouring out of the rooms. "EVERYBODY OUT! NOW!" He ran back to the elevator and stood in front of it to ensure that no one would try and use it, turning everyone in the direction of the stairs instead.

**eieio**

Willow and Tara were the first of the scoobies to emerge in the crowd of Potentials and Watchers. Willow was a little breathless still, from the shock of being torn so violently from sleep. As the Sorceress stumbled in the direction that everyone else was going, she clung to Tara's hand while rubbing at her eyes with her free hand.

Spotting Giles, she pulled the other woman out of the crowd and towards him, stopping as she looked at him. "Giles, what's going on?" Her voice was croaky from sleep but she ignored it.

Giles shook his head. "Buffy called, said to get everyone out. Seemed urgent, didn't ask what was going on. Go on, Willow, Tara… go now. Make sure that everyone is out and a safe distance away just in case."

Willow nodded and pulled her girlfriend back into the fleeing crowd. "Don't stay too long, Giles."

**eieio**

Anya was the next person to appear at Giles' side, looking frantically around, desperate to spot her husband. "Giles, what's going on? I can't find Xander. Is something wrong? Where is he? Where are Buffy and Faith?"

Giles placed a reassuring hand on Anya's shoulder, doing his best to give off a sense of non-panic to hopefully calm the woman down a little. "I don't know what's going on, Anya. Just that we have to evacuate. Xander is apparently with Buffy. Go!"

Anya calmed at the news but frowned as she looked at Giles. "You can't stay here. Come on, Giles – you have to go now too. It'll be fine. Everyone knows not to use the Elevator in a fire drill – it's been drilled into everyone over the years, right? Come on." She grabbed his hand and pulled him into the departing crowd.

**eieio**

As Andrew looked at the crowd making their way up the stairs, he could only make a face. "We'll never get out of here. Whatever's going on, this is taking too long. We should use the elevator. It hardly takes any time at all." He looked over to Dawn and her Potential friend who he couldn't be bothered to learn the name of. "Come on."

He moved to get out of the crowd but was stopped by an angry looking Dawn grabbing his hand. "Are you STUPID? Don't you remember ANYTHING from school? If there's a fire or whatever, you never use the elevator in case you get trapped!"

Andrew whimpered and looked towards the lift. "But…"

To stop any further protests, the other woman grabbed his free hand and the two dragged him into the melee, fleeing up the stairs.

Outside, they emerged to a world of confusion. There was a lot of confusion around them but even amidst that, they noticed an island of quiet… that was of course because Robin was there in the centre of it, doing what he did best – calming fretting teenagers.

**eieio**

Travers was the first to spot Buffy as she came running at full speed towards them. There was a disapproving frown on his face as she drew level with him. She glanced briefly at her watch, noted that only seven minutes had passed since the First had given its warning – it seemed like an eternity. "Miss Summers, I hope that you have a very good reas-"

He never got to finish his admonishment however, as there was a loud explosion. Despite being a safe distance away from it, the force of the blast shook the ground beneath them, sending a lot of the assembled crowd to the ground.

Buffy stood up and looked around, hoping and praying that everyone was safe. She rushed off in the direction of the stairs of the Initiative. She relaxed only slightly as she saw Willow, Tara, Dawn, Andrew, Giles, Anya and Robin standing close together.

Where the hell was Spike? Did everyone get out okay? **"SPIKE?" **She cursed as arms wrapped around her waist and stopped her from entering the building. "**LET ME GO!** **GET OFF ME! I HAVE TO GET IN THERE!"**

The Slayer only stopped struggling against the arms wrapped tight around her when breath whispered over her right ear. "Stop it love. You can't. Not now. Too dangerous."

Sagging with relief, she turned in his arms as they were loosened a little. The Scythe fell from her hand, forgotten, as she proceeded to hug her lover tightly. "Spike! I was afraid you were in there. Did everyone get out?"

Spike hugged Buffy back, nuzzling her. "The gang's accounted for but I'm fairly certain that not everyone made it, Buffy. I'm sorry." He felt the woman's knees give out then and slid to the ground with her.

**eieio**

Around thirty Potentials and a handful of Watchers made their way up from the stairway. Most were surprisingly okay but about ten had broken limbs. The last to emerge stopped to inform the older Slayer that there had been at least forty people behind her…

Buffy could only nod woodenly, shocked at the events of the night. She stood, pulling Spike with her as she went in search of the Gang.

Anya spotted Buffy again and moved towards her. "Buffy! Where is Xander? I can't find him. Giles said he was with you…"

Buffy swallowed as she looked at her friend. "Anya… I'm sorry, he's… Caleb hurt him. He's in the hospital."

Anya's eyes widened in alarm, "What? No! No, he's fine."

Buffy's own eyes widened in turn as she realised what was going through Anya's head. She placed a reassuring hand on her arm. "He's alive. Sorry. He's alive. Caleb…" She swallowed hard but couldn't think of a way to put it nicely - or particularly gently. "He took out Xander's eye."

Anya stared at the Slayer, not really comprehending. "His eye? What…" She shook it off for the moment. "He's alive, right?"

Buffy nodded and Anya relaxed slightly. "Well okay. Good. He's alive." She looked around the crowd for a moment until she spotted Giles. "Giles! You have a car… you must take me to the hospital now to see Xander!"

Giles managed to smile a little at the command from the woman. He looked at her and nodded before turning to see if anyone required immediate attention. He gestured to a couple of the last Potentials to emerge to follow him, nodded at Buffy and headed off to the car.

Buffy watched them go for a second then turned her attention to the rest, her eyes narrowing as she spotted Travers trying to do a head count of his Watchers. She moved over to him. "Travers…" When she had his attention, she scowled at him. "Do a head count of your group, I want to know who is missing. Once you tell me that, we'll be going down there to see which of the missing is down there."

Travers wasn't sure whether to react to the 'we' or the fact that she seemed to be insinuating something. "Miss Summers, what exactly are you getting at?"

Buffy eyed him. "I am getting at the fact that we have a traitor in our midst. Someone planted that bomb. No one would have willingly allowed a Bringer into the building. That means that the First got to someone. I sincerely doubt it would have been a Potential and I KNOW it wasn't any of my friends… and yes, that includes Faith before you ask. That leaves your Watchers. We need to know who it was because if they're not lying down there dead, so help me, I will hunt them down and kill them myself for this!"

Travers blinked and stared at the very angry woman. "Yes, well… I…" He couldn't think of a thing to say in that moment. He settled for nodding, turned and with the help of a Watcher called Jane who was never without pen and paper, started working out just which Watcher was missing.

After a moment, Buffy looked over at Spike and sighed. "All our notes, our weapons… our food… they're down there. Maybe we can salvage something but… shit, Spike! What the hell are we going to do now?"

Spike frowned. "We don't know how bad it is yet, love. We could go down there in a while when the dust has settled and discover that nothing is out of place apart from our belongings – it's hard to imagine that the Government wouldn't have planned for such an event, after all."

Her lover's words were surprisingly comforting. She nodded and kissed him for several moments until she registered an angry Watcher walking past on their way to Travers, complaining about their lack of tact. Both blondes turned to glare at the moron – Nigel – for a moment before releasing each other and moving off to check on the dazed Potentials wandering around.

**eieio**

Two hours after the explosion, the group sat around outside the Initiative. All eyes of the Potentials and Watchers were fixed ahead at Buffy and the Scooby Gang who stood in front of them. Willow sighed as she passed the list to Buffy. "Fifty two missing Potentials, twelve Watchers."

Buffy closed her eyes for a moment and let out a heavy breath. "Is Michael here? If he's not, we're going to have to call in someone to do some sort of burial for them all. We can't… just leave them there."

Willow nodded. "He's here. Travers spoke to him already – he said it would be best to do a proper burial but if that's not possible, he could still manage something, don't worry."

The Slayer rubbed at her forehead as she kept her eyes closed, leaning against Spike. She finally opened her eyes and straightened after a moment of thought. "We have to go down there. The dust should hopefully have settled by now, right?"

Willow frowned. "Buffy, I doubt it'll be safe."

Buffy nodded. "I know but… we have to try. The bodies can't stay down there. Then there are our Weapons and all the records."

Tara spoke up. "We don't need the records – everything was backed up onto disc for just such an eventuality, remember? Plus, saved online on that site Willow set up. As for Weapons… we can always pick up more, Buffy."

Buffy sighed. "That still leaves the bodies…"

Spike spoke up. "I'll go down – takes a hell of a lot to kill a vampire. Plus, don't need to breathe so I'll be fine."

The Slayer whimpered, hating the idea – what if some wood fell on him and by some horrible coincidence pierced his heart? Seemed unlikely but given their recent luck, wouldn't be impossible.

Spike just gave her a look. "I'll be fine, love."

**eieio**

It took Spike three hours to recover the bodies inside the bombed building. That was three very long hours of worry for Buffy – not just about her lover getting trapped in there but for Xander, back in the hospital. Dawn thankfully, had had her mobile phone with her as she had been with Andrew and Mabel, researching in the 'library'. They were able to keep in contact with Anya who informed them that Xander was doing fine according to the only doctor left in Sunnydale. Buffy couldn't have been any more grateful to this woman for staying when everyone else had fled.

When Faith had returned a couple of hours back, she had rounded up any Potentials or Watchers who required medical attention. Robin, Willow and Tara had gone with them to ensure that they were all safe. Buffy didn't allow herself to worry about them. They would be fine – Robin, Faith, Willow and Tara were strong enough to avoid most threats. The Potentials couldn't be any safer.

Buffy sighed heavily and flopped down on the grass, moving from a sitting position to a lying one. "This day just… blows." It had been on the tip of her tongue to say that it couldn't get any worse but best not to tempt fate the way that Xander had years ago.

**eieio**

A/N: As to the anonymous reviewer's question as to why Buffy didn't just finish off Caleb before going to her friends, I figured that the Slayer can have her faults but stopping to fight a foe she knows she can beat whenever she wants to would take second place to the threat of everyone she knows and cares for being blown sky-high. I'd like to think that if I was in that position, I'd choose my family over getting rid of an adversary too.


	45. Preparations

Buffy and Spike sat huddled together, about five metres away from the main group of Potentials and Watchers. They sat beside the rest of the Scooby Gang not at the hospital at the moment. No one was talking. At that moment, Buffy was aware that the group, especially Willow, were giving her worried looks, perhaps worried that her blank look meant that she was slipping back into catatonia. She wasn't though. Her mind was just busy planning, trying to work out their next step, where to get weapons from… because no matter how bad this was, there would have to a next step.

They had to realise that, didn't they? All of them? They could retreat but of course the First and its minions would only follow them wherever they went. This latest attack changed nothing. Aside from the obvious detail of burying sixty four bodies…

That was a tricky one, right there. It wouldn't be right to bury them together after all – it's why the idea put forward by one of the Watchers of getting Michael to say words over the destroyed building and letting it serve as a mass grave had been so completely vetoed by everyone else – even Travers had looked disgusted at that idea. "Allow the Vampire to take photos of the faces if you must but they will all be brought to the surface and shown the proper courtesy of a burial."

That had been the end of that discussion, the idiot Watcher walking away with her tail between her legs.

**eieio**

As Buffy turned her head to look over at the man, she couldn't help but notice the way that Willow sagged in relief when the Slayer moved, losing the slightly spaced-out look she had had on her face. She sighed softly and turned to look properly at Willow, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm still here, don't worry."

Travers noticed the Slayer looking his way, said a few words to her and moved over to inform her of what they had discovered. It was not pleasant.

Buffy stood out of Spike's embrace as she noted Travers walking over to them. The rest of the gang followed suit. The Slayer's gaze took in the list in the man's hands and frowned, noting that his hands shook quite noticeably. "What did you find out?" Her voice when she spoke was surprisingly compassionate but she already knew what he would tell her. Not who was to blame specifically but certainly that it was a Watcher.

Quentin looked down at the paper in his hands then straightened resolutely, making eye contact with the blonde woman. "We… have done a full roll call of those both present here and at the hospital as well as the recently deceased…" He sighed heavily. "All of the Potentials are accounted for – plus you and your friends, obviously. In fact, the only one missing is one of my Watchers. I trained him personally, Miss Summers. Alexander Cameron… He has links to the British Royal family you know." It wasn't said in a bragging fashion – at the time that he had come to the group, it had been quite the coup but this… if he was the one, it was unthinkable. "A cousin of his even has his eye on being Prime Minister…"

Buffy understood why he shook – for Travers to accept that someone so high-born could betray him; betray the Council and all they stood for – not to mention the girls he was meant to train; all of humanity even…. That was unthinkable.

The Slayer sighed, reached out and patted his arm. "It may not have been him, Quentin. We can't know for sure. Not yet. He might be elsewhere, a hostage or something." Even to her the words sounded hollow and false but Quentin brightened a little. "Yes. You're probably right." He nodded slowly and wandered off, still looking shell-shocked.

**eieio**

Spike frowned and wrapped an arm around Buffy's shoulders. "You really think he could be innocent, love?"

Buffy sighed and sagged. "No. I don't. Who else could it have been? It's just… Travers looks like a shell of his usual self. I couldn't quite bring myself to deliver the final blow."

The Vampire nodded in understanding. "Yeah, fair point." He sighed and pulled her into a hug for a moment. "So what now?" His words were a little muffled as he spoke through her hair a little but his lover heard anyway. "Now… I need you to steal a really big bus."

Spike blinked and pulled back a little, holding his girlfriend at arm's length to look at her properly. "You wanna run that past me again, love? Think I missed something."

Buffy shook her head. "You didn't. I need you to steal a bus. We need to get the rest of the Watchers, Quentin and some of the younger Potentials out of here," she paused, "and you." She hated the thought of being away from him, hated it completely but this made sense to her.

"Now just wait a min-!"

The Slayer interrupted him. "Now don't get angry, Spike. I'm not sending you away to get rid of you and I'm not saying goodbye – I fully intend to meet you soon enough. I just… I need you to go with them and keep them safe. You're the only one I trust that I can spare."

Her lover shook his head. "I don't like it. I've never run away from a fight in my life, Buffy. Why make me start now?"

"Oh my love… I'm not asking you to run away." She pulled her hand from around his waist and moved it up to cup his left cheek. "I'm asking you to protect those who can't protect themselves, that's all. Just until you get them to Angel in L.A. at least. If you think they're okay, you come straight back here."

The vampire sighed but knew when he was defeated. "Fine. I don't like leaving you but it does make sense so I'll go with it for now at least. But as soon as I've left them with the tosser, I'm coming straight back!"

The Slayer shook her head and smiled at the insult aimed at Angel. "I would expect nothing else. I mean, in an ideal world, you'd stay there but that wouldn't be like you at all. And who knows… maybe having all those people there will force Angel out of some of his gloom?"

Spike snorted and pulled her in close to his body again. "Not bloody likely pet."

"I'll miss you when you're gone." He rolled his eyes at the comment. "Well of course you would – who wouldn't miss having me around, hmm? Sex god and all that I am." He grinned as Buffy laughed. "Valid point, Spike."

**eieio**

The next morning, after helping through the night to dig sixty four graves and getting no sleep, all Buffy wanted to do was find somewhere warm, dry and safe to sleep for a good eight hours but of course that wasn't an option. She sighed and moved over to Quentin Travers who was currently sitting in the bus that Spike had brought back some time in the early morning.

She glared at the other Watchers surrounding him until they quickly left the vehicle. She sat down in the seat in front of him, turned to face him and sighed. "I want you and the other Watchers to pack up whatever of your stuff is left and leave."

Travers eyes boggled at that. "I beg your pardon? You can't expect us to do that! Who will keep us safe? What if the First gets us and destroys all the information that we have recaptured over the past months?"

Buffy shook her head. "I'm not talking about going on your own. I'm talking about going with the newest Potentials and Spike. You'll need to get the word out to any more of the Potentials to not come here. In the next week or so, I'm expecting the First to make its move and they're not ready for that level of intensity. They **will **be able to keep you safe though. Especially while Spike is there – he's good at rallying them… and just in case you have any **silly** ideas about getting rid of him, forget it. Because I **will** hunt you down for daring to do something stupid."

Travers looked a little startled at that but got over it quickly enough. "Spike has proved useful, Miss Summers. I see no reason to eliminate anyone who can help us when we have already lost so many – and at the hands of someone I trusted. I will bow to your judgement in this manner."

After a moment of silence between them, Travers spoke up. "So where do you suggest we go?"

Buffy shrugged. "Temporarily at least to L.A. Angel is there as I'm sure you are well aware – plus his group. They can keep you safer than Spike and the Potentials alone. Plus, they can help to train the Potentials. Long term though, are you really telling me that the Council doesn't have emergency premises anywhere else in the world?" That seemed very unlikely.

After a moment's hesitation, Travers volunteered information. "We have… a place in Cleveland…"

Buffy snorted, finding surprising amusement in that information. "Is it on top of the other Hellmouth?"

The man shook his head. "No. It's near it though – purely by chance. It was land left to the Council years ago by a grateful family – one of our Watchers gave their life to save their daughter."

Buffy let herself ponder on the unfairness of that for a moment – she and many other Slayers risked their lives – and gave them too, to save others, yet rarely got so much as a 'thank you'; a Watcher does it once and gets lands enough to set up emergency Council premises. Lovely.

Still, no point being bitter – each can only play the hand they're dealt, after all. Or so Principal Flutie had mentioned to her briefly… before reading through her report from her last school and changing his mind. Still, the sentiment still held.

"Right. Good. Then you all need to pack up and head to L.A. for now. Take the newer Potentials who're here plus any that show up between now and when you leave, send word for the others to come to you rather than here to Sunnydale, take Spike to help out. We'll meet you there soon enough."

Travers couldn't quite believe it. It was almost impossible to believe that they could prevail in any way but then, this was Buffy Summers – he had ruled her out more times than enough yet she had always come up fighting. He sighed and reached forward and patted her shoulder. "If anyone can pull it off, I feel sure it will be you, Buffy."


	46. Regrouping

After Spike had left via the sewers to 'borrow' a bus to transport the Watchers and new Potentials away from Sunnydale, Buffy made her way over to Giles and motioned for him to follow her to the rest of the gang.

For a moment, they all just stood there and looked at each other. Buffy sighed as she realised that it was up to her to break the silence. "Okay, we need to do something – sitting out here in the open like this; we're sitting ducks or whatever. I mean, that's mostly okay during the daylight – and it's not like the Bringers are hard to deal with but I don't think we all want to have to deal with the uber-vamps tonight when we've got no weapons to defend this big group other than this thing." She held up the Scythe.

Giles nodded. "Yes indeed. While you may be right about that weapon being something truly extraordinary, I think it might be asking entirely too much of both it and you to protect everyone all at once. The magic that the Watchers can conjure at present can only do so much as well."

Buffy rolled her eyes at that – while she trusted Willow and Tara, she wasn't willing to put the lives of everyone into the hand of the Watchers – their magic could hardly be on a level with her two friends after all. "Oh you know me, Giles – always up for a challenge…" She smiled at that but sobered quickly. "We need a big place to hole up for now, somewhere we can make safe and get enough rest for whatever's coming next. We also need weapons and food and other such provisions."

Andrew held his hand up. "Well… why not go to the mall? We could make it secure, right? Plus there's bound to be food and weapons there, right? I mean, the fresh food is probably out but there's bound to be stuff in tins and boxes and such, there's also the sports place that sells all the knives and stuff for hunting and of course there's lots and lots of wooden things that can be made into stakes so…"

Giles and Buffy both looked at him, surprised though it was the Watcher who spoke. "Yes, that's actually a very good idea, Andrew. Well done."

Torn between being offended that the group was so shocked that he would have a good idea and preening at the compliment, Andrew decided it was better to preen and grinned widely. "Thank you. Also, I never did get around to getting the latest X-men comic so I could do that too."

Faith sighed and smacked him upside the head. "Always have to spoil things with a nerdy comment, don't you?" She rolled her eyes as she turned her attention to Giles and Buffy. "It sounds like a plan to me, right? Should I round up the troops?"

Buffy frowned. "Not just yet. Or rather, we're not moving out just yet but round them up – we have to wait for Spike to come back… he's bringing a bus to take the newer Potentials and the Watchers to L.A., out of harm's way."

Robin frowned. "Do you think that's a good idea? The Watchers, I mean… Probably best to send the newer Potentials away to ensure that they don't get hurt or get in the way, but to send all the Watchers away? We could use their help – or rather, Willow and Tara could probably use the help of those who have magic at their disposal."

The blonde woman frowned in thought. "No, it's okay. We've done this before – if Willow and Tara need their help, they can get it from wherever they are – just as they can access help from Giles' coven in England. Don't ask me how that all works. I don't really get the whole magic thing." Giles sighed long-sufferingly but didn't say anything to that.

Robin shrugged. "Well if you're sure, Faith and I will get everyone ready to go." He looked over at the other Slayer. "That's okay with you?"

Faith shrugged. "Five by five."

Robin blinked. "What does that even **mean**?" Faith laughed at the bewildered look on his face and gestured with a nod of her head for him to follow so that they could get everyone ready.

Buffy smiled at their exchange before turning her gaze to Giles. "So, does this sound okay to you? Send away the Watchers and newer Potentials to L.A. with Spike… of course, he'll be back in a day or so once he's got them settled in with the group over there… meanwhile we will go to the mall to regroup." She frowned. "Maybe I should get Spike to go down again and bring up as many weapons as he possibly can? Although, I really don't want him going down there - it might not be safe."

Giles patted her shoulder reassuringly. "Buffy, this is Sunnydale. It's safe to assume we'll find more than enough weapons along the way without having to resort to sending allies down to their possible deaths or even just to be mortally wounded. We'll get by. We always do." His gaze ticked to the Scythe in her hands. "Honestly, at this moment in time, I'm more interested in the weapon you've found. When we get to safety, we will need to get everyone to see what they can dig up – I guess that makes the mall even more ideal – I doubt that the internet café will have packed everything up."

Buffy smiled and shook her head. "No need. Really Giles – I already know what this thing is. It's **the** Weapon of the Slayers: the first Watchers didn't create it; of course women angry with those interfering men did, apparently. They felt it was unfair that one girl in all the world should have such a responsibility so they created a weapon good enough for such a special human being."

Giles' eyes widened as he listened to Buffy's speech. "Really? My word! Fascinating! How do you know all this?" The Watcher in him itched to reach for a book and take notes but he forced himself to stand still and not go in search of anything to record the details, focusing instead fully on what Buffy was saying.

For a moment the Slayer contemplated spilling the beans, telling someone everything about the Mirror and all that it had caused and the changes that had happened because of it but quickly dismissed the idea – not because she was worried about her Watcher's reaction but rather because she couldn't be a hundred percent sure that the First wasn't around, listening to every word spoken and she would hate to spill the beans too early on and spoil the surprise heading the First's way. "Dreamt it. Just there when I managed to catch a nap after the… burial." She grimaced as she thought of the dead souls now residing in the ground that lay so close to their feet.

Fortunately Giles seemed to take that at face value and nodded. "Well, if I didn't already know that this was going to be a big fight, the frequency of your Slayer dreams would certainly have allowed us to realise that fact." Buffy almost felt guilty at that. Almost. Then again, wasn't it a good thing that everyone was taking the threat seriously?

**eieio**

Spike had of course located a large enough bus to transport the Watchers and Potentials to L.A. There would be enough room for them but not enough to ferry everyone and the few belongings that Spike had managed to scrounge up while bringing the dead to the surface to the Mall. Still, Buffy wasn't going to complain.

Before leaving, Buffy instructed everyone to look around for wood to be used as makeshift stakes. Within half an hour of Spike's return, the Watchers and newest Potentials were safely put on the bus with a handful of more-fully trained Potentials to offer extra protection.

Buffy, the Scooby Gang and the remaining Potentials headed to the mall on foot, ready for any Bringers that might come their way. They needn't have worried. It was a completely uneventful trip – the First didn't even make an appearance to gloat at its minor victory in taking out so many of their people.

Even on the bus, the most exciting thing to happen, was that a brunette Slayer called Joanna (who looked eerily like Buffy would if she had brown hair) and a female Watcher had to restrain a newer Potential, to stop her trying to murder one of the younger Watchers who had decided it would be a good idea to try and get everyone to sing 'Five Hundred Green Bottles.'

Spike's only response to the unfortunate male, being almost choked to death, was to chuckle and point out that if it hadn't been the Potential, it would have been Spike himself doing the strangling. That apparently, wouldn't have been good for the rest of the people on the bus because he wouldn't have taken the time to stop the vehicle first.

Lewis had sniffed as the others applauded when he stopped singing. "I was only trying to brighten the mood."

Joanna rolled her eyes. "It's not like we need the distraction, Lewis – it's a twenty minute drive at best. Just do us all a favour: sit down and shut up. Please." She smiled politely at him to lessen the blow.

**eieio**

At the hospital, things had calmed down – more or less. The last remaining doctor had managed to prevail of the services of one of the Watchers who had trained as a doctor himself before being pulled into the 'family business'. Between the two of them, they had managed to get Xander's eye out of his socket (to ensure no infection could set in) and get him doped up until the pain left him. The carpenter was currently fast asleep on a hospital bed, Anya, sitting on a chair by the bed and watching over him.

Willow and Tara were moving around, helping out where they could. She looked at Tara as they took a break, drinking what was supposedly tea from a vending machine but was probably more accurately labelled as dishwater. "I still feel guilty – I mean, couldn't I have used magic to heal Xander's eye?"

Tara grimaced as she took a sip of her drink then set the cup aside, deciding it wasn't worth drinking. "Willow, we've been over this – you offered, he refused." She shrugged. "There wasn't anything more you could have done."

Willow frowned. "That's not true though, is it? I could have reasoned with him, made him realise that my 'super-duper-witchy-powers' were not going to turn him into a frog or something…"

Tara reached over and gave her girlfriend a hug. "He seemed pretty set in his conviction. What if you'd gone ahead, against his will, and he'd ended up hating you for it? You know how Xander can be after all… I mean, I love him but he can be pretty stubborn."

Willow considered that as she returned the other woman's embrace. "Yes, you're right of course. It doesn't stop me from feeling guilty though." She scowled. "Why would he go with them? They didn't need his help – he wasn't going to be able to win when they couldn't. It's not like as if one of **us** were to lose it: he could maybe reason with us and stop us from doing something evil – Caleb is **completely** evil to the bone and kills without conscience!"

Tara sighed. "That's just Xander, isn't it though? He wants to do the right thing and protect us all. If we lived a normal life, if we lived in a world where there was no magic, chances are that Xander **would** be the one we'd look to for protection and security."

Willow shuddered at the thought of such a world. Even though she only now used her magic to protect innocents, she couldn't bear to think of a world where magic didn't exist. She would be back to being the Willow that she had been all those years ago with probably just as bad dress sense. Plus, would she ever have met Tara? She shivered and pushed the thoughts aside. "Do you think he's going to be okay?"

Tara hugged the other woman a little tighter for a moment. "Xander might be the most normal of us Willow but he's strong. He'll be fine. He won't let this get him down."

**eieio**

Two hours after arriving at the mall, the group had managed to round up enough weapons and potential weapons to feel comfortable. While the fresh food left behind had long since gone off, there was plenty of tinned and packaged food left to keep them going. Buffy put Andrew and Rhona in charge of a group of Potentials whose job it was to gather the food together into one room – a large store that was full of comic books. Buffy felt sure that Xander would have been in heaven. As it was, Andrew had to be dragged away from the place to get some work done. Another group was busy gathering up anything that could be used as bedding into the same room.

Buffy looked around at the group as they did what they could to make the large room safe – a small group of Potentials had already been placed at each of the entrances – not to fight any intruders but simply to act as look-out so that they would have advance warning if anything attacked. Due to a lack of electricity, once everyone was inside the large store, Buffy pulled the steel shutters down over the storefront then pushed them back up again just to ensure that they could be moved and could be used as an extra line of defence if any of the Potentials did come running back to warn of trouble.

Given that everyone was looking at her, waiting for further instruction, Buffy took a few moments to try and to work out their next move. "Okay, Spike and the group mentioned earlier will be leaving in a couple of hours so I suggest that anyone who feels they could benefit from any basic training should come with us into the other room cleared out earlier – we can walk you through a few moves. Anyone else should get some sleep."


	47. Reckoning

A/N thanks again to TheSwannsSparrow for pointing my error. Fixed now. Oops.

**eieio**

A couple of days had passed since the bus had left for LA and things had actually settled down a lot. The remaining Potentials were all eerily quiet and surprisingly it was a little wearing on Buffy's nerves. After talking with Faith, it was decided that the older Slayer would go out on patrol, taking the Scythe with her. As Faith, Willow and Tara were at the mall, the remaining group would be safe enough.

The blonde pulled on her (current) favourite jacket - a lovely buttery soft leather jacket in a pleasing shade of tan, found in her favourite store. She hadn't had the money to pay for new clothes but all hers were either sent out of Sunnydale with the rest of her things or were lying at the bottom of the Initiative. Quentin being Quentin, had been unwilling to let anyone take clothes without paying for them so had insisted that a tally be kept of all the clothes taken by Buffy and the rest then a cheque was written for the merchandise and set into the till. If anyone came back to check, they would still get the money owed.

A couple of hours later saw the regular patrol carried out with only one staked vampire and a demon which had run off at the sight of her. She could have given chase but killing a scared, six inch high demon seemed a little overkill - pun intended. The thought of heading back to the mall was not really appealing however. With nothing better to do, she figured she's head to the woman who had told her about the Scythe... And this time, to avoid the woman's incredulity, she would tell her that her name was Elizabeth. She grinned and, with a destination in mind, turned and headed in the required direction.

**eieio**

The Slayer walked in, fully expecting to see the woman standing there once more, as if she had been waiting for her for millennia. Instead she was greeted by the sight of Caleb smirking as he stood over her bloodied corpse. "Damnit! What is** wrong** with you? What the hell did she ever do to you?"

Caleb blinked, taken aback by Buffy's angry questions but he rallied well. "She was more interesting, dying and screaming for mercy. You'll know how that feels shortly." Buffy's only reaction was to roll her eyes and move into a battle-ready position.

Twenty minutes into the fight, Caleb was reconsidering the notion of taking on the Slayer without being fully imbued with the First's power. Instead of listening to that voice of reason however, he listened to the voice that said that this stupid blonde whore was nothing but a girl...

Buffy easily dodged Caleb's attacks, grinned as she jumped out of the way of a low sweeping kick. "Aw, is poor Caleb all worn out? Perhaps you should take a **nap**." She used her own leg to knock the feet out from him. "So like a man - all talk but no stamina." She smirked. "I haven't even broken a sweat whereas you're ready to call a time-out?" She stomped on his stomach hard before dancing back out of the way of the hand that tried to catch her leg and knock her off-balance.

"Y'know, if this was a wrestling match, you could tag someone else in. Shame you don't have anyone else here to help you. Me though, I've got this." She held up the Scythe.

Before Caleb could move or utter a word, she brought the blade down on his neck, sighing with relief that the man was finally no more. Sensing a presence, Buffy turned and looked around but saw nothing. She snorted softly. "Aw, did I just kill your right arm? I can't lie to you, it felt damn good."

The First appeared before her then, in Kennedy's form and wearing such a look of pure evil loathing that Buffy almost took a step back. Almost.

The impersonator glared and took a step forward with arms stretched out and fingers clawed as if to strangle the blonde bitch in front of it. When it spoke, its voice was filled with barely concealed hatred. "You BITCH! When I rule this disgusting world, you will be the last to die - you will watch on as I kill all those you love, slowly and painfully. Only then will I deign to put you slowly out of your misery and-"

Buffy rolled her eyes and interrupted the pointless speech. "I'm sorry - were you not paying attention before? 'Cause Caleb said pretty much the same thing to me not that long ago and now he's lying dead on the floor in pieces."

Kennedy's eyes widened. "You. Will. DIE!" With that said - or rather, screamed - the First vanished. Before Buffy could react to that, she felt another presence enter the room.

Angel stepped out of the shadows. "See you're still making friends."

"Angel..." She felt a little aggravated by the breathy quality her voice had taken on at the sight and sound of him. That was eclipsed however, by the annoyance she felt at how she wanted to react - she wanted nothing more in that moment than to run over and kiss him senseless. She actually had to force herself to stand still. "You're looking well."

Angel looked baffled - this wasn't the reception he had expected. Why was his Slayer not falling into his arms? "I...what?" His nose wrinkled as he registered the fact that she **stunk **of Spike. And not in a fighting kind of way. "Are you sleeping with Spike?"

Buffy immediately felt defensive. "He has a soul now."

Angel growled. "It's all the rage now, isn't it? Getting a soul. I had one first you know!"

The Slayer sighed. "It's not a competition, Angel. How are Wesley and the rest doing?"

Angel waved a hand around vaguely, not really paying attention. "Do you love him?"

Buffy eyed him steadily. "I do... How's your son?" That at least stopped the questioning and Angel had the grace to look embarrassed. "Connor is...will be...fine."

Buffy sighed and finally moved toward closer and gave him a hug. "It's good to see you, Angel." It took all her willpower not to follow up with a kiss.

"Yeah, you too." He hugged her back, surprised to feel the same pull to her, despite everything - despite Cordelia.

With a heavy sigh, Angel pulled back from his ex-lover. They weren't the same people they once were. He didn't have the right to get angry with Buffy for sleeping with a souled Spike any more than she had the right to get angry about Connor or Cordelia - not that there was anything to get angry about Cordelia for... Not yet at least. Hopefully Wolfram and Harte could do something to change that. He grimaced at the idea (not for the first time) that he was now relying on his enemy to bring back the other woman he loved – it was going to take a lot of getting used to. Pushing the thought aside, he gestured to the door. "Can we get out of here?"

Buffy sighed. "I need to bury that bastard - the one in bits on the floor. Preferably separately to ensure it really is dead." She frowned. "When that's done though, I need to take the old lady to the mall for a proper burial," she paused as a new problem hit her, "except that Michael is away to L.A. with the others. Damn."

Angel looked understandably confused - this meeting wasn't going at all in the way he had expected, and now Buffy was talking in riddles. "I know I've been gone a while but since when did burials happen at the mall? Who's Michael...and what lady?"

Buffy grinned suddenly. "You've missed a lot. The place we were staying got blown up - there wasn't enough room at home for us all - so we're currently at the mall. Michael is a Watcher who was ordained some time ago so he's been burying the Fallen. Or rather, he's been presiding over their burials." She paused to remember his questions, turned and gestured. "The lady ther- oh. Huh. She was there a moment ago. Strange." She shrugged. "Guess she wasn't too fond of the idea of a burial." She gestured to the torso of Caleb. "Wanna bury that half for me?"

Angel nodded and lifted up the remains. "...human?"

Buffy grimaced. "Only in body. I'll explain as we go. Then you can tell me what brings you back to lovely Sunnydale... Oh, did I mention that we have an army now? Lots of Slayer Potentials. The First is trying to wipe them out so they've been coming here for protection - they're going to be coming to you from now on though. You're in a lull, right?" She smirked as she glanced over at him before grabbing Caleb's head, roughly by the hair, careful to keep any dripping blood away from her clothes and footwear.

Angel boggled at her retreating form as he followed her out. He didn't even know where to start with questions. He settled on "you ARE going to survive this, right?"

Buffy shrugged. "Hopefully."

**eieio**

After burying Caleb and bringing Angel up to speed, she flopped down on the grass and peered up at the stars for a while. That got boring real fast though, when she remembered that ANGEL was there. She sat up and looked at him. "Okay... so you brought me something right: a gift that will help?"

Angel blinked in surprise but realised it wouldn't have been that hard to guess at - it's not like he regularly popped down to Sunnydale for a visit, after all. He nodded and pulled the package out from the inside pocket of his duster. "Well... maybe. Don't actually know what it does unfortunately – it's a gift from people we don't really trust so actually, it could go either way." He held the gaudy pendant up for the Slayer to get a look.

Buffy stared at it quietly, taken back to the moment that she had seen its true power and had realised that she was about to lose Spike. She was so lost in the remembered pain that it took her a moment to register that the vampire was still talking. "Sorry... what?"

Angel frowned. "Buffy, are you okay?" At her nod, he sighed and got back to the point. "I said that it has to be worn by someone ensouled but more powerful than a human. Which means me... or I guess Spike now."

The vampire sighed and looked away, pondered over how to word his request. "I..." he sighed again and looked back at her. "I know that technically, Spike could do this as he has a soul now but he can't have had it as long as I have, Buffy. I want to be here with you, at your side when this goes down. Let me wear this – if nothing else, chances are high that it was meant for me, anyway. I don't think that Wolfram and Hart want me dead – there's no way they would have gone to so much trouble as they have in the past few days if that were the case."

Buffy did her best to not jump for joy at his request. It would save her having to try and work out a way to make it happen. Still, there was still one hurdle: "Are you sure that you can deal with the fact that I'm with Spike now? I don't want to cause you any pain, Angel. I don't want to rub it in your face either but we **are** together now..."

Angel sighed and rubbed at his forehead. "I'm not going to pretend to be thrilled about it but I'll survive. I'll be here to help if you want me to – we've just survived an Apocalypse in L.A. so we'll be having a quiet time. Still happens here in Sunnydale, right?"

The young woman smiled. "Yeah. Guess that answers a question I've always wondered about – if it's the same way everywhere. Okay... Look, if you're happy to help out despite me being with Spike, I'll happy for you to be here. I could do with all the help I can get." She chewed on her lip, considering. "Will someone be able to look after the Potentials we sent up there?"

Angel nodded. "Sure. Wesley will be more than happy to deal with them and help them settle in." He paused. "Did you say Watchers are with them..?"

Buffy grimaced. "Yeah, sorry. Had to get them out of the way. After the moron betrayed us and got a lot of people killed, I didn't want the rest of them there..." She hastened to add, "The rest seem trustworthy enough. I just didn't want them here, feeling obliged to help in the fight – you know how Watchers are."

Angel nodded. "They Watch." He looked away from her then. "Seems pretty dead here. How about we head back to the mall and you introduce me to everyone I don't know."

Buffy nodded and stood. "Sounds like a plan." She dusted off her clothes and headed back, Angel walking beside her.

**eieio**

As they entered the mall, they were too engrossed discussing everything to notice two presences standing nearby.

Spike and 'Kennedy' stood there, glaring at the Slayer and her ex-boyfriend. "That BITCH... she sent you off to L.A. then the moment your back is turned, she's cosying up to her ex-boyfriend. Nice, huh?"

Spike growled as the First smirked – the Slayer might have taken Caleb from him but it seemed like it was about to get Spike instead. It seemed like it might be a fair trade, all in all.


	48. Confrontations

At the sight of Buffy and Angel making their way into the mall, Spike growled low in his throat. He barely registered the First's words. Right in that moment, he could hardly think straight – had Buffy gotten rid of him as she knew Angel was coming – after all, it seemed that his Slayer was ridiculously ahead of the game recently. What was to say that she didn't know about him coming to Sunnydale? Did she still want the tosser? More than she wanted Spike? He didn't know and in that moment, he was too **scared** to go into the building in case his suspicions were confirmed. Because it wouldn't matter, would it? Even if she and Angel somehow had gotten past that curse and were getting back together, he would still be there, doing what he could to protect her and keep her safe. Fool for love indeed! He turned and eyed the First. "Get bent." He walked away from the mall, hoping to find a fight or two to help clear his head before he did something stupid.

The First pouted. "Hmm... looks like it won't be as easy as I thought." It disappeared to regroup.

**eieio**

Spike was stalking around the oldest graveyard in Sunnydale, searching in vain for a vampire or ten to dust when the annoying prat made his presence known. "What do you want, you big poofter? Haven't you got a city to save somewhere?"

Angel smirked. "Now is that any way to greet your older and better?"

Spike clenched his teeth, doing about all he could to damp down his anger – he doubted that Buffy would be pleased to know that the two had been fighting. "You might be older, but you're by no means my **better**."

Angel shrugged. "That's a matter of opinion, don't you think? Certainly **Buffy** seems to agree with me..."

The blonde's first instinct was to rush over and punch the asshole in the face right then but he didn't move an inch, only his fists clenching at his sides spoke of the anger that statement elicited. "Last time I checked, you two couldn't be together what with the whole temporary soul thing."

His grandsire smirked. "Seems I got my reward already... my soul's all nice and permanent so I'm just here to see you to tell you that you can go now. There's no need for you to hang around any more. It'd just get embarrassing. Really embarrassing. For you, obviously. It would just be awkward for Buffy."

Spike rolled his eyes. "I'm not going anywhere, **mate**! You really think that I would leave her here in your clutches? How many times have you hurt her now, hmm? What, going for the hat trick?"

Angel sighed and shook his head. "William, when will you ever learn, hmm? Wasn't the excruciating shame you felt whenever Cecily turned you down enough? And you were only infatuated with her pretty face – just imagine how bad it will hurt you whenever Buffy has to let you down. And you know she's never been one for doing things gently. She'll most likely rip your heart and soul out and stomp on it for good measure... what will you do then, hmm? I mean, when Cecily turned you down, you went out and found Dru and became a vampire. Can't exactly do that now, can you...?" He smirked as a thought came to him. "I guess you could always do us all a favour and kill yourself."

Calm stole over Spike then. "You know, you're really overselling this thing – you're not Angel. You're Angelus. Which makes you the First – Buffy might have been caught out in the past but she would never make that mistake again. She'd never give that bastard the time of day after all he's done to her."

Angel's face fell. "Well, damn." The First scowled and changed back to the form of Kennedy.

"It doesn't change a single thing you know – she'll still choose him over you. Every time. You should forget her - forget her and come back to the right side… My side!"

Spike rolled his eyes. "You **really** need to do your research – I'm William the Bloody. Only side I've ever been on is my own. That includes Buffy and her friends because I love her. I was never on **your** side. Besides, my soul is already damned but I'm fairly certain that siding with you now would ensure an even worse hell later. I think I'll pass... which is **weird** because you make it so **very** tempting..." The sarcasm literally dripped off his words as he spoke.

After a moment the vampire shook his head. "If that's the best that you can do to mess with my head, you really need to go take some classes or something. 'How to win people over to your way of thinking' would be a good place to start – not one of my better comebacks but it'll do. Now piss off." He turned and walked away, heading back to the mall and leaving the First to stew in its anger.

**eieio**

After bringing Angel in to the group to get reacquainted and bringing them up to speed (and introducing him to those he didn't know), Buffy slipped outside to clear her head. It had been a strange day indeed. She had known that Angel would be back but she wasn't sure when exactly. It was weird seeing him back there again, talking with Giles and the rest. Weirder still seeing the way that Faith was drawn to him. She hoped that he wasn't going to come between Faith and Robin – then again, maybe this time around, they wouldn't happen anyway.

The Slayer rubbed at the back of her neck and wished she had some ice. That of course made her think of Spike. She reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out her cellphone and checked for any calls or messages from Spike then just stared blankly at the screen when it showed nothing. After a moment of pouting, she decided to call him. It rang out. She did her best to ignore the butterflies in her stomach that caused – he was probably just busy driving or sleeping or chatting to someone. Didn't mean there was something wrong just because he didn't answer his phone.

**eieio**

Spike pulled his phone out and stared at the screen. Of course it was Buffy – only the main group had his number. Of those, only Buffy or Dawn bothered to ring him in his absence... and Dawn preferred to text. The only reason that the niblet would be calling was if something was wrong. He felt the usual first instance of relief at seeing Buffy's name flash up rather than her sister's (because that meant that nothing urgent was happening). He didn't bother to answer though – hardly much point when he was only a few minutes away.

Spike warily stepped up to the mall, not wanting to witness his lover hanging out (or worse) with the great poofter. It was therefore, a major relief, to discover Buffy standing out front by herself. He frowned. "Should you really be out here on your own, love?"

Buffy's worried expression lightened from worried to happy the moment she registered the voice. "Spike!" She beamed at him as he came into view. "I thought you were never going to get back," she paused, "what's wrong? Why are you just standing there looking confused?"

Spike looked at the woman he loved and tried to make his feet move forward but he seemed to be stuck fast to the ground. What if the First had been right about Angel getting his soul permanently through that stupid prophecy reward thing? What if Buffy had simply been waiting outside to break things off with him?

With a snarl, he pushed the stupid self-defeating thoughts aside and rolled his eyes at his own stupidity – it wasn't like Buffy had been expecting him back tonight. Why would she therefore be waiting outside for him? "How's Angel?"

Understanding dawned on the Slayer then. "Ah. Let me guess – you smelled him, huh?" She sighed and walked over to Spike, wrapping her arms around him. "You really don't believe I love you, do you?" She sighed heavily as she looked up into his eyes. "Well, I do. I always will." She shrugged. "I care for Angel. A part of me will always love him. The problem is that he only loves me with his soul – and if he was human, that would be perfect... but he's not and it isn't. The minute we do anything, that soul flees and Angelus wants to torture me and kill all my friends and family. You though, you love me with your soul and your demon. I want you Spike. I love you. You're not just the man I love but my best friend and I trust you completely. I don't have to worry that you're going to get bored of me and up and leave – you couldn't even leave me when you **did** hate me." She relaxed as Spike finally wrapped his arms around her. "I missed you."

Spike relaxed then as he nuzzled his nose against her neck, taking in the scent of her. "Missed you too... what's he doing here?"

Buffy sighed. "He comes bearing a gift – a really shiny pendant that will help us in our fight that has to be worn by someone more than human who has a soul."

The vampire's eyes narrowed and he looked at her. "Wouldn't I fit the bill? You don't really need Angel for that one, surely... or don't you trust me?" He moved to pull away but Buffy's arms wrapped more firmly around him, keeping him there. "Spike please – I told you already that I trust you completely and I do. Please don't doubt that. I am sure that your soul is at least as worthy as Angel's to wear the stupid trinket – personally, I think it's more worthy but hey! I'm just... it's volatile. We don't know what it does yet. Angel's willing to take the risk – plus, I'd like you by my side when the final fight comes. I don't think that I can do this alone."

Spike seemed to calm at that but the young woman chewed on her lip as she tried to further explain without actually telling Spike what the deal was – there was no way of knowing whether the First was around to hear and she couldn't risk giving away the ace up their sleeve. "Look, we're in the biggest fight of our lives, Spike. I'm honestly not sure that we'll get through this so at this stage, I'll take any help that I can get. It doesn't mean that I am going to get back with him or that what you and I have is over because that's the last thing I want to happen. I just... he can help."

Spike sighed and decided to take her words at face value. "What if we do fail though? Wouldn't it make more sense for him to be in L.A.? Because surely that'll be where the First and its minions will head next. To clear out the Potentials there."

Buffy sighed. "Probably. For once though, I'm going to be a little selfish. I actually think we can do this, Spike – I mean, obviously we can't kill the First but we could do some serious damage to its army. I have to believe that."

**eieio**

Xander had been released from the hospital finally. The doctor had left soon after as Willow and Tara had assured him that he would be better off. At present the husband and wife were resting at their home. Tara had tried to convince them to come to the mall but Xander had refused, claiming that he needed some time to clear his head.

There wasn't much left in the abode as they had already cleared out as per Buffy's orders but Willow and Tara had brought them an air bed to sleep on plus they had managed to find a toaster and microwave in the house next door. That would have to suffice.

Willow and Tara were stationed in their front room and had managed to find a kettle in a nearby home and so Anya was busy making tea. She looked at Willow. "I don't like it here, Willow. This isn't our home any more. It's just an empty place that once had potential. Now I don't feel at all safe. Why won't Xander go to the mall? I don't understand."

Willow sighed and patted the ex-demon's shoulder. "I don't really get it either Anya but he must have his reasons."

**eieio**

Anya sighed as she sat in front of the plank of wood settled over more wood, currently serving as the kitchen table – that conversation with Willow had happened over a week ago now and they were still 'living' in their old home with Tara and Willow nearby to ensure their safety.

Anya didn't feel safe though – Willow might be one of the most powerful witches she had ever known, add Tara to that mix and they were most certainly a duo to fear but, being so separated from the group played on Anya's nerves. Plus, it was rather depressing. Xander didn't even want to have sex – he just wanted to mope all the time and she had absolutely no clue as to how to console him. Yes, it was sad that he had lost an eye but at the same time, he still had one good one, right?

She stood up, resolved – it was time for her to do something… she headed into the room where Xander was currently moping, laying on the airbed and glaring at the ceiling. "Do you just intend to stay here forever? You know that us being here is probably a huge drain on everyone… we're splitting everyone up when Buffy could use everyone together to be at our strongest."

Xander scowled. "It's all about Buffy, isn't it Poor Buffy has it **so** hard, doesn't she?"

Anya blinked, taken aback by the resentment that was so clear in his tone. Directed at **Buffy**. This was a little new – for a moment, she could only stare at her husband in pure bafflement with even less of a clue than usual as to what to say."

Xander finally deigned to look over at her. "What, no jumping to her defence, huh?"

Anya frowned. "Why are you being like this? I don't understand why you're so angry."

The young man stared at her with an expression of astonishment. "I lost my eye, Anya! Isn't that a good reason?"

The ex-demon nodded. "Being angry I can understand to a point – though honestly, you have another eye… it's not like you're blind now. It could have been so much worse. You could have **died**, Xander! What then, huh? You would have left me after less than a year of married life… what if I'm pregnant right now, hmm?"

Xander's eyes widened in alarm, and Anya was honestly relieved to see an expression other than anger or resentment on the face she loved so much. "You're pregnant?"

Anya sighed. "No, of course not. At least, I don't think so… it's not the point. The point is, I could have been. You would have left us alone… what exactly did you think you were doing? If Buffy and Faith couldn't defeat Caleb, what were you planning to do, hmm? Scream him to death? You're a **human**, Xander – you don't have any special powers. I know that bothers you but you have to face that fact!"

Xander scowled. "My being human had nothing to do with it – she should have saved me!"

Anya's eyes narrowed. "She didn't even know that you were there! You just decided to follow them without letting them know, thinking you would save the day. I get it, okay? If we were normal, living a normal life, you'd be the man who would save us all but we're not. You have to accept the fact that Buffy is stronger than you and can survive just fine without you – otherwise you're just as bad as Riley… and look how badly **that** turned out!"

Xander shook his head, confused. "What has Riley got to do with anything?"

Anya sighed. "He left Buffy because he couldn't deal with the fact that she was stronger than him. It's that simple. He needed to be needed but Buffy didn't need him to protect her. Sure, she needed him to love her but he was never able to do that – not when she didn't also require his protection. Buffy would never be able to settle for a normal human relationship. She's not normal, Xander. She's got essence of demon in her, remember? That's why she could fall so hard for first Angel and then Spike."

Xander interrupted her. "You've completely lost me…"

Anya's sigh sounded rather like a growl that time. "She's not perfect, Xander. You put her up on this stupid pedestal years ago then you're stunned when she does something incredibly human – like falling for a vampire. Twice. Well, she did. She also wasn't able to save you this time. Deal with it. She can't be in all places at once and really, she has already saved you – saved all of us – more times than we can count so, why don't you cut her a bit of slack!"

Xander sighed. "I lost my eye, Anya."

Anya nodded. "I know. But you're still handsome. I still love you. I still want to have **sex** with you."

Xander couldn't help but laugh at his wife's usual bluntness. "Still, huh? Even now that I look like a pirate?"

Anya smirked and lay down on the bed beside him, trusting that the worst of the confrontation was over. "Oh even more so now." She smiled with relief as her husband's arms wrapped around her. "I love you."

"I love you too, Xander. No matter what."

He sighed and closed his eyes. His lovely woman was right – it was time to let it go. It wasn't fair to blame Buffy as he had been doing.


	49. Levity

After another day of fruitless searching through ancient text (rescued from the ruins of the Initiative by Angel, who got a very mixed reception for doing so: Giles was thrilled, everyone else who would have to get back to research was decidedly less so), Dawn groaned and flopped her head down on the ridiculously thick but currently completely useless tome in front of her.

Giles looked over. "Dawn, please do be careful – that is one of only two copies of Ghrome's Occult Encyclopaedia left in existence." Fortunately he had turned away and was walking out of the room as the young woman lifted her head to shoot a glare in his direction.

Andrew snorted. He was sitting nearby and had therefore witnessed the whole thing - well from the moment that Dawn's head had thunked down and snapped him out of a pleasant daydream where he was fighting Darth Vader alongside Luke Skywalker whilst Hans Solo watched on in admiration. "See, that's the problem right there - they just don't appreciate our hard work at all. What we need..."

Dawn turned her glare from the door that Giles had left out of to Andrew instead. "Shut up." It made her feel a little better to see the young man pale a little at the rebuke.

Andrew stopped talking but pouted at the rude interruption then wisely chose to fall silent.

Dawn sighed and pushed the pointless book aside and lifted another. After flipping pages absently for a few minutes, she stopped and looked over at the blonde again, weighing up her options for a few moments before speaking again. "I'm probably going to regret this but, what do we **need** exactly?"

Before he could do more than open his mouth and draw breath, Dawn spoke up again: "Be warned - if this has anything to do with you and I having sex, I will get Willow to turn you into a toad!"

Andrew grimaced at the thought. "Ew, no." Despite the fact that Dawn wouldn't touch Andrew with a barge pole, she couldn't help but feel a little affronted at the speed at which he rejected the possibility. She pushed that tiny niggle aside – she definitely would never go there.

Andrew shook his head to try and get rid of the unwanted mental image. "Maybe if you looked like Seven of Nine... or... admittedly you could pass for a young Kathryn Janeway... in a certain light of course - if it was in that light, and you were wearing the uniform, with your hair up, I could consider it. Maybe..."

Dawn shuddered and for the sake of her sanity, interrupted his reverie. "Andrew, continue that thought and so help me, I will batter you repeatedly with one of the many stupid books in front of me," she gestured to the weighty tomes in front of her, "just tell me what you were going to say originally - if you can actually think back that far with that goldfish memory of yours."

Andrew glared at her. "I resent that Dawn - I remember lots of stuff. It's not my fault that Star Trek and Star Wars et al is just so much better than 'real' life."

Annoyed even further than she thought possible, Dawn slammed her hands down on the book sitting on the table in front of her, it made a pleasingly loud noise and she couldn't help but smirk at both the way Andrew jumped in shock and the fact that Giles would have hated to see her do it. She stood and moved over to his table.

"Andrew, I'm going to pretend that I didn't hear the inverted commas you put around the word 'real' so that I really don't do you physical harm and now, for the last time, tell me what you were going to suggest originally!" She gave him the most threatening look she could manage which, given that it had been deliberately copied from Buffy and was therefore quite intimidating, appeared to have the desired effect.

Andrew gulped then nodded hurriedly. He took his gaze away from the scary woman and hunted through his pile of books. "I was gonna say we should do some of the spells in here." He triumphantly held up a book and passed it over. "I mean, you want to learn real magic, right?"

Dawn took the book from him - a book that looked decidedly homemade – the cover was a drawing of a wizard, who looked remarkably like Warren apart from the bulging muscles apparent in the picture, battling a dragon. It wouldn't have even been so bad if the wand he was using wasn't pink with a glittery star on top. She sighed and eyed the writing underneath. "Basic summoning spells for dummies." She took a deep, slow breath as she mentally counted to ten. When the young woman spoke, she sounded calmer than she felt. "You're talking to - and therefore annoying - me to show me this garbage?"

Andrew frowned. "It's not garbage. Well okay – I admit that the original wasn't great but the spells were modified by myself and Jonathan and now do what they were meant to do."

After considering that for a moment, Dawn flicked open the book. "Who would want to summon a rain of toads... or a giant carnivorous marshmallow? Ooh wait - the chocolate could be good..."

The blonde shifted around, embarrassed. "NOT to be eaten by anyone who doesn't want to sit on the toilet for a couple of days - we could never create proper chocolate, only stuff with laxatives."

"Heh - shame we couldn't change the spell to blood in that case - that would keep the ubervamps busy, huh? Then again, the whole point would be to keep them busy elsewhere and do vampires even use the toilet? No, they must do – Spike eats those onion things from the Bronze, right? It'd have to leave his system too, in that case. Hmm... I guess I could ask Spike, except... that'd be TMI and icky and gross and..."

The young woman stopped talking as she realised that she was rambling just like Andrew did. It must be contagious or something. She sighed and focused back on what Andrew had said. "Wait... the time that we got the two days off because of the bug all the teachers got... Was that you?"

Andrew had the good grace to look embarrassed. "We had hoped that a gift of chocolate would cheer them up – make them give us better grades - especially in gym. We never thought to check its quality first."

Dawn started giggling then and it was good - she felt certain that it was the first time she had laughed so hard since Mabel had been taken away to LA along with the other Potentials - maybe even in years. Looking at her, Andrew couldn't help but laugh too. It was a good ten minutes before their laughter calmed down.

**eieio**

Dawn found herself sitting down beside Andrew at his table, going through the spells in the book. "So why this book?"

Andrew shrugged. "It's the one I started with so it's pretty fool-proof. You want to learn something more interesting than the floating pencil trick that Willow has you practising, right?"

With a nod of her head, the young woman had to concede the point. "The floating pencil is really annoying. Alright. Which one?"

Andrew grinned as he took the book from her. "I know the perfect spell..."

**eieio**

As Xander and Anya walked into the store that the Scooby Gang were currently using for a meeting room, Buffy registered their presence and her face fell.

Xander felt more than a little wounded to see his friend looking so displeased at the sight of him. "Don't look so pleased to see us, Buffy..."

The Slayer sighed and stood up, moved over and hugged him. "I **am** glad to see you both, Xander. Mostly." She felt her friend tense in her arms so she hugged him just a little tighter. "Can you really blame me for wishing that you and Anya had taken the chance to leave Sunnydale and live a safe and normal life?"

The carpenter smiled faintly in understanding. "What, and miss all the fun? You know you'd all be lost without us."

Buffy smiled and released him. "We would. It's good to see you." She hugged Anya then turned her attention back to the male a moment later. "Xander... I'm sorry I couldn't stop Caleb..."

Xander cut her off before she could say anything further. "You don't need to apologise, Buff – this is all on me – as my good wife kindly pointed out, I shouldn't have been following you. At the very least, I should have made my presence known to you and Faith. As for Caleb, I should have ran the moment he came into the room."

Before either could say anything further, there was an ear-piercing scream. Buffy immediately went into Slayer/Worried Sister mode. "Dawn." She took off running in the direction of the noise, Spike following only a couple of steps behind. The rest of the gang followed as quickly as they could.

Buffy being Buffy, didn't bother to open the door of the room where the scream emanated from – she launched herself at it, the wood splintering and giving up. As the door fell over, she took in the sight before her in befuddlement. "Why... why are there... large bunnies everywhere?"

Both Spike and Buffy looked at either Andrew or Dawn as they stood on chairs, kicking out at any of the rabbits that got near them. Dawn squeaked as one got a little too close, grabbed a book off the table and dropped it on its head - much to Giles' disapproval. "We uh... cast a... spell. **Buffy** look out – there's one sneaking out behind you!"

Buffy blinked. "It's just a bun-" She squeaked and hopped out of the way as the creature near her displayed fangs, ready to sink into her calf. "VAMPIRE BUNNIES? SERIOUSLY, DAWN?"

Anya had been quiet until that moment – mostly because she hadn't been able to look into the room as she was at the back of the group. On hearing that however, she paled visibly. "Bunnies? Vampire bunnies? Xander, there are **vampire **bunnies in there! Aren't bunnies bad enough? I feel sick. Why would they do that, Xander? Why?"

Xander, sensing that things weren't going to get any more sensible decided it would be best to retreat with his slightly hysterical wife. "Okay people, you know the drill – a demon is a demon no matter how big or small – get stakes and dust... or squish whatever. Uh... I'll be right back." He ushered his trembling wife away from the scene.

Buffy sighed and pulled a stake out from her pocket. With a snort, Spike did the same and followed her into the room. "Kids!"

**eieio**

An hour later, a rather bloodied and tired group sat in the room – even Xander and Anya had returned (the latter only doing so when she was assured that the bunnies were all dealt with). Fortunately the bodies of the dead bodies had disappeared without a trace the minute they were dead. Buffy rubbed at her face then turned to her sister. "**Why **would you conjure up vampire bunnies?"

Dawn huffed a little and looked down at the ground as all the people in the room (bar Andrew) turned to look at her. "It wasn't **meant** to do that. I did exactly what was written down in the book." She looked over at Andrew. "Right?"

Andrew nodded and reached for the book, flipping back to the right page. "Yes. We were so careful – it's a simple spell. Only an idiot could mess it up." He ignored the glare from Dawn that ensued then pouted as the book was snatched from him by Giles.

The watcher looked at the book and sighed. "Well, there's your problem – Dawn followed the spell for what was **supposed** to be a rain of glitter but you've got the wrong word in it – you actually have 'plague of vampire rabbits'. Well done you!" He looked at Andrew and shook his head disapprovingly before passing the book over to Willow. "I don't think either of these two should have this again."

Dawn looked set to protest but at the disapproving glance from Willow, she thought better of it. For about ten seconds. "There is only so much floating pencils I can do, Willow."

Willow snorted. "This doesn't exactly prove that you're ready for anything more, Dawn. What if you'd conjured.. oh, I don't know... Glory back?" Given that she was so focused on the younger woman, she didn't notice the way that the Watcher blanched a little. Fortunately for Giles, no one else did either.

Buffy then jumped into the discussion and after a moment it was hard to hear a thing. Xander sighed as he noted that a thoroughly chastised Dawn was shrinking in on herself. "Hey guys..."

They were too busy telling Dawn off to hear him - especially Anya who was freaked out still. A second, louder try yielded no better results. Before he could shout at them however, an ear-piercing whistle shocked them all to silence. As one, the group turned to Andrew.

Andrew's whistle stopped abruptly and his fingers lowered from his mouth. He decided not to be embarrassed though. "Xander is trying to say something."

Xander took a moment to think that maybe having another male around wasn't a bad thing, even if that male was Andrew - Giles didn't count. "Right... Uh, thanks Andrew. I do in fact have valid pointage here... Dawn just did a spell that went wrong. No need to lose tempers."

Willow started to protest. "Do I need to remind you of the time that Giles lost his sight, Buffy got engaged to Spike or I became even more of a monster magnet? Or how you decided to re-soul Angel very early on in your magic career?"

Willow blushed. "That's not fair, Xander - there could have been serious consequences."

Xander nodded slowly. "Right - like the time I managed to conjure up a demon, or the time - and no offence intended here, Tara - that Tara did the spell to stop us seeing her 'demon side'?

Willow's arm wrapped supportively around her girlfriend's waist. She sighed and conceded the point. "Fine." She looked over at Andrew and Dawn. "I'm still taking this book away though, Andrew."

**eieio**

Later, when everything had settled down and Buffy, some of the Gang and the Potentials were off patrolling, Dawn sought Xander out. She found him in the area currently serving as a kitchen, smiled as she realised he had gotten an ice cream machine working. "Ooh, can I have one?"

Xander turned and smiled. "Sure - but only if it's vanilla. The other flavourings appear to have gone off. Also, it'll have to be in a bowl. Sheena devoured the last packet of wafers earlier today. Don't be upset with me if I say that Potential is a little strange - of course, she could be pregnant... Wouldn't that be a recipe for disaster?"

Dawn took the bowl offered to her with a quiet 'thanks' then sat down at the nearby table. "Why?"

Xander shrugged. "This is a war, Dawnie - we're not all going to make it. We've all chosen to be here though but, if Sheena **is** pregnant, the baby didn't choose." He sighed and sat down opposite the young woman with his own bowl. "Care to wager that she'll be the first to die if she is?"

Dawn sighed and stirred the ice cream in the bowl. "Well, that's kinda depressing... I'll get her to do a test. Saw a bunch of them in the pharmacy when I went to get dressings for Dana's wound."

Xander smiled faintly then. "Thanks. Of course, she could just **really** love wafers, right? Hope she has some stockpiled away if that's the case."

Dawn grinned suddenly. "Don't know why you're so gloomy, Xander - we're going up against the First so we can be pretty sure we're all going to die."

Xander, with typical Scooby humour, laughed then too. "There is that."

Their laughter was cut short when 'Kennedy' appeared before them suddenly. "I'm glad you can find humour in your deaths for they're coming real soon - I think I'll kill you both first, in fact."


	50. Visitations

For a moment all Xander and Dawn could do was to stare open-mouthed, and with at least a little fear, at the First. It was Dawn who broke the silence.

"Hey Xander, do you remember the time we were at home, taunting Harmony only I got carried away and basically gave her permission to enter the house?"

Xander blinked and turned his gaze from 'Kennedy'. "Oh yeah, I doubt that any of us will forget that in a hurry, Dawn. Why do you ask?"

The young woman shrugged. "It just occurred to me that the moment I realised what I had done, I was terrified... What does it say about the First Evil when it's less scary than **Harmony**?"

Xander couldn't help but grin back at the woman who was desperately trying to stifle giggles. "You have a really good point, Dawnster - what's it going to do to us anyway... Bore us to death? Glare us to death?" He turned to look at the apparition. "Ooh apparently going for the second option. Good choice."

Kennedy growled. "Laugh it up when you still can - I will soon be standing over your dead bodies and-."

Dawn cut it off. "Well yeah, that kinda goes without saying - you're immortal or something, right? You're gonna outlive us all... Well, maybe not me in a sense but probably the human part of me. Doesn't mean it'll be any time..."

With an angry scream and a stomp of its non-corporeal foot, the First disappeared. "-soon." Dawn pouted. "See I just don't get the respect - if I'd been Buffy, it would have stayed to hear my speech."

Xander grinned and patted his friend's shoulder. "That's why they're the bad guys Dawn - no manners."

Dawn snorted. "Well, that and the fact that they usually want to kill, enslave or eat all the humans. Hey, do you think my blood would taste different to a vamp - being the 'Key' and all?"

**eieio**

The First pondered its next move - it could of course go and taunt Buffy but wasn't quite in the mood yet. Kennedy's form smirked and headed for its new target, changing forms as it went.

**eieio**

As per the agreement of the Scooby Gang, Faith had stayed behind while the majority of the group went and patrolled - Buffy's idea... Hoping that taking time to be 'human' would keep the younger Slayer grounded. Something like that anyway. The old Faith might have kicked up a fuss at that but, during her time in prison, she had come to enjoy spending time by herself, doing nothing more stressful than a bit of meditation.

That was how 'The Mayor' found her, sitting in an abandoned candle store in the mall. She sighed as she was snapped out of her tranquil thoughts. "Everything okay, Daw-" the Slayer's eyes widened as she saw the form of her old boss. "You're not him."

"Oh come now, Faith - you know that's not how it works. There is a part of each person in me... Or rather, there's a huge part of me in each person." It laughed in a way that was purely her old mentor and she found herself relaxing just a little, despite her best intentions so when she spoke, her tone was terse. "What do you want?"

Richard Wilkins III frowned. "That's no way for a young lady to address her elders - especially when said elder is there to warn her."

Faith sighed softly. Most of her knew she shouldn't listen to the other being but she had been trained to react to the man and she couldn't help doing so right then. "What's the problem, boss?"

At her much more polite question, the Mayor appeared appeased. "Much better - the problem is the same as it's always been. Buffy Anne Summers... Here you are, working with the very same not-very-nice-young-woman who not only killed me but who stabbed you with your own knife. You can't **trust** her!"

Although guilt gnawed at the Slayer, she shrugged it off. "Things change. People change. Even me."

The Mayor shook his head. "Oh, you don't change, Faith. Not you... Not ever."

Faith frowned. "Whether you like it or, I have - I don't want to be remembered as a rogue Slayer who got the definition of 'enemy' wrong!"

"But you already have, Faith - you're fighting against me when you should be fighting **with** me."

Faith snorted. "And end up like Caleb and the rest of your dead minions? I don't think so."

The First scowled and changed back to its stolen form of Kennedy as the Mayor clearly wasn't working. "If nothing else, be honest with yourself - you couldn't even save this one Slayer, why do you think you can save any others?"

Kennedy smirked suddenly. "But of course, it's not about the other girls, is it? Or saving the world... It's about the same thing it's always been about - you want to get into Angel's pants! Gross, by the way."

Faith glared at the apparition before her. "No, I don't!"

Kennedy laughed cruelly. "Of course you do! Shame though - he'll never see you as anything other than the murderous Slayer who tried to kill his 'soulmate' a time or two. Guess you could hope for a pity fu-"

Faith snapped then. "That's enough - I won't listen to this crap any more! LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Her attention was taken away as the door to the store was loudly banged open as Robin rushed in. "Heard your shout..." He frowned as he noticed that the Slayer was visibly shook up. "What's... Who was here?"

Faith managed to tear her gaze away from the space that had been so recently filled by the First. "I... The First was here."

Robin whistled lowly. "You're really in the game now, Faith. What did it say to you?"

Faith wrapped her arms around herself before shrugging and trying to brush it off. "Said I couldn't trust Buffy and that I want to bang Angel." She snorted. "Which just goes to show that no matter how many characteristics of the dead it can get spot on, it doesn't know **everything** - I look up to Angel the way that Buffy looks up to Giles."

The brunette frowned as she looked down at her hands. "Look at me - I'm shaking."

Robin moved closer and patted her shoulder. "That's exactly what the First does. Finds your Achilles Heel."

Faith frowned. "No, it just talked to me. What, it does a heel thing too?"

For a moment, Robin could only look perplexed but he mentally shook it off. "Um, it's a... it's a phrase - your weak spot."

Faith relaxed a little but managed to look slightly uncomfortable. "Oh. The school thing... I was kinda absent that decade."

Robin shrugged it off. "Point is, when the First came to me, it WAS my Mother - right down to her perfume. It really knows how to freak you out but the important thing is that there's always a grain of truth somewhere. Do you think we need to worry about Buffy?"

The Slayer sighed. "Since I've met her, I've spent most of my time worrying about B. I think, for a change, I'm going to trust her - she has given me no reason not to, after all. She's been very upfront. I mean, I guess we could keep any eye on her but I'm certainly not going to try and do something as stupid as trying to get rid of her and take over."

Robin could honestly think of worse things - especially given the older Slayer's obsession with the evil vampire who had killed his mother... Then again, Faith had the other vampire in her sights. "And Angel..?" He winced a little, had never intended to put it so indelicately.

In response to his question, Faith leaned in and kissed him.

**eieio**

Buffy sighed with dissatisfaction - she and the rest of the group had been patrolling for the last few hours and there had been nothing to Slay or even threaten a little - even Willie's bar had been completely deserted. For anyone else, that would be a good thing but that left a Slayer, a couple of vampires and a load of Potentials very restless indeed.

She stopped walking and it was only a pure fluke that Rhona, who had been walking behind her, managed not to careen into the blonde. "Clearly there's nothing doing tonight."

Spike sighed. "Which is a great shame - 'cause I've got an overwhelming urge to beat something up." He cast a sideways glance at Angel who glared at him.

Buffy sighed, was about to tell them to cool off when a better idea hit her: "You know what? The Potentials could do with a demonstration of a normal vampire's power..." She eyed the two vampires. "No killing, slaying or staking or generally making either of you unpretty but, yes, let's see you fighting."

She smiled a little at the look of delight on the face of both of the men's faces but was distracted by a suggestion by Rhona. "Buff, as fascinating as this will be, you think they could remove their shirts? Solely for research purposes of course."

Buffy laughed at that. "Sure, why not." She turned her attention back to the vampires. "Shirtless please guys - and remember, no slaying or maiming or I will be forced to intervene."

Spike laughed at the look of reluctance on Angel's face but he certainly had no problem following Buffy's orders - he was shorter but knew he had a hot bod and was more than happy to show it off. "You sure you don't want us to strip off completely, luv?"

Buffy grinned and took the jacket and top he passed to her. "Only if we can find some mud."

Angel had to settle for allowing Willow to take his clothes. Fine - he would settle for beating the crap out of Spike instead.

**eieio**

An hour later saw the Slayer, two worn out vampires, two witches and a group of equally pumped up and terrified Potentials heading back to the mall. Neither vampire had been willing to end the fight but, the oncoming sunrise and a ratty Slayer convinced them to do just that.

When they returned to the mall, Angel realised that he was a little tired of all the noise that so many young people in one place made so made his excuses and cleared off to an unoccupied shop to relax a little. "Call me if you need me."

Buffy was a little too distracted fussing over Spike to really register his words. "Uh huh." She guided the other vampire off to their 'room'. Angel sighed, shook his head and walked off.

**eieio**

When the First appeared to Angel, it was in the guise of Darla. "Angel, what are you doing? Didn't I teach you to want more than this feeble life?"

Darla frowned. "See? You used to worship the ground I walked on but that damned Slayer has you wrapped around her little finger - all because of sex which, if I'm not mistaken, was mediocre at best."

Angel sighed. "Look, can we not do this right now? You're not Darla - you're the First. Last time we met, you tried to make me kill myself. It almost worked but, here I am... 'Alive' and well and battling evil. You won't convince me to kill myself this time or to change sides and you can't take my soul so please... Just go away. Go annoy Spike or something." He pulled off his duster, rolled it up and set it on the ground then lay down, using it as a pillow.

Not quite ready to admit defeat, the First changed forms to that of Jenny Calendar. "It seems you no longer feel guilty about my death. How could you imagine you're forgiven."

The only sign from Angel that he had registered the change was a twitch at the sound of a familiar voice. He didn't even bother to open his eyes. "I will never stop feeling guilty about the fact that I killed her. Sadly, she's just one of many. I'm doing what I can to atone even though I never can. Go away now." He turned on his side, facing away from the ghost of his painful past.

With the realisation that it was not going to get any satisfaction from the group, the First decided to go check up on its minions.


	51. Brooding

A/N: so I had a random thought today... Remember the episode where Faith and Buffy switched bodies thanks to the device from the Mayor? Well, what if Tara and Willow hadn't made a device to switch them back? What if Buffy had died in Faith's body? Would a new Slayer have been activated or would that have to wait until Faith died in Buffy's body?

Anonymous reviewer: yes, there is more to this story. No, we will not go 'back' to the original gang - this IS them. Not an alternate universe. When they all passed out, that was time being rewritten.

A/N2: For any Angel fans out there, I'm not trying to bash him with the following chapter. I just figure these thoughts have to cross his mind once in a while.

**eieio**

Angel, not for the first time, changed his position on the floor where he was trying to rest - once again he was lying on his back, glaring up at the ceiling. He wasn't brooding though… what possible reason could he have to brood..?

Oh wait... there was the fact that his soulmate was less than five stores away from him, having heated sex right now with the shitty peroxide blonde vampire who was, he supposed, his grandson. There was also the fact that Faith was having sex with Robin two stores down. With **Robin**, for crying out loud!

Why was everyone getting to have sex but him? He had a soul and he'd been fighting the forces of evil longer than Spike yet, it was the younger vampire who got the girl.

As for Faith, she was sleeping with a teacher/vampire hunter with a grudge against Buffy's current squeeze. For a moment, he entertained the notion that he could convince Robin to dust Spike but dismissed it quickly enough - Buffy would undoubtedly end his existence for it. The vampire groaned and pulled his rolled-up jacket out from under his head and shoved it over his face. He barely managed to resist the urge to scream into it but the thought of Spike hearing and being amused because of it ensured that he did. Just.

He just wanted to have someone in his life; someone who cared. Sex would be great if it was thrown in too. Not that he'd had much luck since getting his soul back... His first time with Buffy, he'd lost his soul and tried to kill all her loved ones, drive her mad and turn her into another Drusilla. He had sex with Darla and ended up with a gorgeous son after she had dusted herself and then his son was stolen from him... Then later when he came back from the hell dimension he had been stuck in, there was the huge fact that his son had wanted to kill him **and **had ended up in a relationship with Cordelia - the woman that Angel loved and they'd gone on to have a child. Jasmine... A God... Who he'd had to fight. It was only as Connor killed her that he realised that they had probably messed up, ending a happy world that people were bound to have preferred and...

"Hell, the first woman I loved is now having sex with my grandson... Another woman I love slept with my son..."

Dawn walked into the store and eyed Angel. "I can hear you brooding from the other side of the mall, Angel. It's hardly a productive use of your time, is it?"

Angel looked at the hostile young woman in front of him and sighed. "Dawn, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Dawn shrugged. "I wanted to have a chat."

Angel sighed again and sat up. "I'm not going to hurt her, Dawn."

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know you're not - because if you even **try**, I will hunt you down and stake you myself!"

Angel nodded slowly. "I don't doubt you for a second. I'm here to help, that's it. I know she's with Spike now and that she's happy. Why would I take that away? I would like to point out though, just for the record, that I had a soul first." He actually pouted a little after getting that out there.

Dawn snorted, unimpressed. "Big deal - you love her with your soul but not your demon. Spike loves her with everything he is... And** his **soul is permanent." She considered that. "Well, perhaps your demon wanted her too but in no way was it a healthy obsession."

Angel gave her a wry look. "I'm sensing that you prefer Spike to me by oh, a little bit."

The young woman shrugged. "He's my friend - I trust him. I like who Buffy is when she's with him. It's not the intense first-love affair you and my sister shared but, that doesn't make it less. They spark off each other, they're friends... He's good for her."

Angel sighed and held his hands up in defeat. "I get it, Dawn - 'Angel bad, Spike good.' Is that it?"

Dawn frowned for a moment, trying to remember why she had sought Angel out - well, the official reason anyway. "Oh right... The amulet thing you brought, I've been researching it. Haven't been able to establish exactly what it does yet. What I **did **find though... It suggests that the user has to be willing to give their life for the cause. Are you, Angel?" She gave him an assessing look he was more used to seeing on the faces of Giles and Wesley.

He looked at her for a moment as he tried to find an answer. "Dawn, I've already lived far longer than I ever had a right to. So if I have to give my life to protect everyone, that's fine."

His answer didn't really seem to appease the young woman though. "Really? You'll walk away from everyone in L.A., give up your life - or unlife, whatever - here if necessary? What about your friends, your son... Cordelia?" She watched as a small measure of doubt crept into his features. "I'd advise you to give the matter serious thought, Angel - for all we know, this Amulet could be a game-changer. You would be doing no one any favours by staying and nullifying its effects."

With that said, she looked at him for another moment before turning and leaving the store. Angel merely groaned and flopped back down on the ground. "Summers women..."

**eieio**

Faith woke up and wondered for a moment where she was. Turning her head soon verified her location and she just managed to bite back a groan as she realised she was lying in her bed with a very naked -and it had to be said, impressive- Robin. Impressive or not though, it didn't change the fact that it shouldn't have happened. She tried to sit up slowly so as not to wake him so that she could get dressed.

Robin opened his eyes, woken by the woman's slight movements. "Leaving so soon? And without a hug or kiss or anything..?" He was trying to make light of it but Faith could hear the undercurrents that stated that maybe, Robin wasn't that pleased right then.

Faith sagged a little but finished pulling on her vest. "Look, I'm sorry - this shouldn't have happened. It's a bad habit I have when I'm worked up. It's one I'm also trying hard to break. I have to believe that I'm worth more than a quick roll in the hay. Heck, even the Watchers think I have something to offer - and they were, not so long ago, preparing to off me to ensure that a new not-so-rogue Slayer could be called."

Robin sat up, confused. "When did I say that this was nothing but a quick roll in the hay? I like you Faith."

The young woman snorted and rolled her eyes. "Please. Look, I know how this goes - guy looks at me, let's just say his priorities shift," she shook her head, "I... Think I want more. Maybe."

Robin frowned. "You can't have that with me?"

Faith laughed incredulously at that. "Robin you're a teacher... Did you miss the part where I said I missed most of school? I wasn't lying, I-"

The older man interrupted her before she could make the situation more awkward than it already was. "Faith, I'm not proposing marriage here so relax, okay? I don't care that you didn't go to school. I like you. You're smart, observant, strong-minded, beautiful and interesting and yes, I would very much like to try and have a relationship with you, if you want it too."

Faith eyed him, bewildered. "You don't have to say this just because we slept together. It happens, I know-" she was cut off by the simple action of Robin's lips descending on hers.

**eieio**

Anya frowned as she lay on the bed beside her husband, trying to sleep. It was hard to do that though with the noises that Faith and Robin were making. How was Xander sleeping through this? She pouted then decided that she simply wouldn't let him. She reached over and shook his shoulder – after all, they hadn't had sex in quite some time given that he'd lost his eye and had to deal with it.

"Xander. Wake up! Robin and Faith are having sex. Again. Loudly. I can't sleep. Why are we not having loud sex also? Have you gone off me? Is that it? I mean, I know that that happens when couples get married but I thought it wouldn't be for at least another couple of decades at least."

Xander had been sleeping and was groggy on being woken but was suddenly quite awake as his wife's word sunk in. "Of course I still find you attractive, Anya. You're still the most gorgeous woman I know, I still want to be with you."

Anya frowned. "Are you sure? It's just been so long… and I love you so much…"

"Anya…" Xander wisely decided that actions spoke louder than words – at least in this situation. He reached over to pull the ex-demon closer then proceeded to make up for the time they had lost.

**eieio**

Faith lay snuggled against Robin, for the moment satiated. "I... This is nice. I've never done this before - the cuddling thing."

Robin looked sleepily at her. "Really? This is one of the best bits." He registered that Faith was suddenly shaking... with laughter. "What? Care to let me in on the joke?"

Faith laughed some more. "I'm just... If the best bit of sex is when it's done... I'm kinda feeling a little bit sorry for you at this moment in time – and doubting my skills right about now." She started laughing again.

Robin rolled his eyes and nudged her playfully. "Oh shut up, Faith - you know what I mean. It's nice, being like this after. Isn't it?"

The Slayer sobered. "Yeah. It is" She laid her head down on his shoulder, her hand stroking his chest idly and slowly her eyes closed.

Robin smiled and just lay there until he too succumbed to sleep.

**eieio**

It was some time later when Robin and Faith woke again. Faith sighed as she sat up, searching for her clothes. "Man, the First wigged me out last night for sure. You think I'd be used to it by now though."

Robin frowned as he pulled his T-shirt on. "Y'know, we didn't really talk much last night, did we? About what it said, I mean..."

Faith sighed. "Robin, there's nothing else to say - it came to mess with my mind, that's it."

The teacher sighed. "You don't think possibly there's more to this? This is the second time it's visited you, both times as your former boss and surrogate father... To warn you about Buffy. Maybe we need to consider..."

The Slayer stood up suddenly, a scowl on her face. "It tells me that B is on to something and that it wants to stop her! It tells me that maybe I've become more of a threat to the First than it originally thought - what it does NOT tell me, is that Buffy is a threat." She eyed her lover for a moment. "If you can't accept that then, maybe last night really was a mistake."

Alarmed, Robin stood quickly and moved to pull the Slayer close. "I wasn't trying to... I... Look, I just want you to be sure. That's all."

After a moment of standing resolutely still in his embrace, Faith allowed herself to relax and wrap her arms around the man. "I'm sure, Robin - we can trust Buffy."

Robin sighed. "Well, I trust YOU so I'll try to."

Unseen by them both, the First stood in the room with them, glowering - would no one leave this damned group?

**eieio**

Angel sighed as he felt the First's presence in the room once more. "Is there any chance you could take the hint and leave me alone? You're actually more annoying than-" the rest of his sentence was choked off as he registered the form the entity had chosen this time - he was staring at... Himself.

The First looked almost pitying as it studied Angel. "I heard what little Dawn had to say... I'll not beat about the bush, shall I? How much longer are you going to keep up this pretence, Angelus? We both know that you don't have what it takes to sacrifice yourself for the people here in Sunnydale - especially as the majority of them have left the building, so to speak."

Angel frowned. "I'll do whatever it takes to make this world better, to atone in some small measure for..."

The First interrupted then. "Of course you will Angel - but here's the thing about you... You've always been incredibly self-serving. Even all your good deeds stem back to how they will make you feel better."

The vampire tried to object but the First just talked right on over him. "Oh, don't try and deny it, Angel - it's just your nature and there's nothing you can do about it. Haven't you sometimes wondered why your soul has to atone for the wrongdoings of your demon? Well, it's obviously easier to understand in relation to you because you were a worthless human being... But in relation to other vampires? Take Drusilla for instance, she was an admirable human being until you sunk your teeth into her. Yet she would still have to atone if she were to get a soul..."

The First watched Angel as he stared blankly back at him. "It's because your soul doesn't actually have as much of an impact on your actions as your character does. In fact, your character is so strong that it moulds the essence of your demon as it enters your being, stripping away the soul..."

Angel finally spoke. "Do I **always** talk in such a long, drawn-out way? No wonder..." He sighed and shook his head. "Is that your roundabout way of trying to get me to leave? By telling me that I'm a useless person?"

The First actually laughed at that. "That about sums it up - you're a lousy human but you have the potential to be an **amazing** vampire if you would only accept your true nature."

Angel closed his eyes and sighed as he actually thought on that - he couldn't deny that the thought of just letting go had a temptation that he sometimes yearned to give in to but... He opened his eyes and stared back at the entity currently borrowing his image. "You don't get it, do you? I spent my whole life doing the easy thing - drinking, sleeping around, being a completely worthless human being. When I became a vampire, I continued doing exactly the same thing - I killed off my own family, just because I could. When my soul was taken again, my demon went crazy, catching up for lost time."

The vampire sat down and pulled his boots on as he stared into the middle distance, his mind on the little sister who was never far from his thoughts anyway; on Jenny who had tried to do the right thing; on Drusilla who had been a kind and sweet girl; on Buffy... For all he knew, he could have prevented Wesley from taking Connor from him, setting them all down a terrible path if he hadn't been so focused on himself and Connor and the fresh start his son offered.

As he tied the lace on his second boot, he finally looked up at the First once more. "My whole life and most of my un-life has been about me, I didn't realise just how much so until you pointed that out. That's what taking the easiest path entails, right? Well, this time, I'm not taking the easy path... I'm staying right here where I'm needed. If I die here, protecting a few people then so be it - I have to assume that, that is what the Powers That Be want of me."

Angel eyed the First. "We're done here." He walked out of the store - actually walked through the First to do so. He allowed himself to wince at the strange sensation that caused - and the fact that his demon revelled in it almost as much as his soul cringed from it, only when his back was to the entity.

With a frustrated snarl, the First disappeared from the room.

**eieio**

A/N: I know that a lot seems to be happening in what would have been covered in only a couple of episodes but I'm running on the theory that the episodes don't show everything from their lives and there could be days or weeks between each.

BTW, thank you for all your reviews, favourites and watches thus far. It's cool to know that other people like what I'm writing (even if updates are getting slower). Much love to you all :D xx


	52. Tension

Giles couldn't help but notice that right in that moment, Buffy looked the angriest he had ever seen her. Of course, that did not deter Spike and Angel from arguing with each other – this was just what they did. The ex-librarian couldn't hold back a faint smile as, finally losing her patience with the two, she shoved them apart as it started to get physical. "That is ENOUGH! Don't you think that we have enough to worry about without you two getting into it?"

His smile turned into a full grin as Angel actually pouted as he forced himself to resist the urge to push past Buffy to get at Spike – at least the older vampire was smart enough to realise that he didn't stand a chance against Buffy if he was to beat up her lover as he so wished.

"He started it." Angel couldn't help but grouse.

Spike snorted. "Did no such thing, y' poofter! I asked you if you'd seen Buffy, that's it."

Angel growled. "It was the way you said it!"

Buffy stared at the vampire in disbelief as apparently good sense deserted him and he reached for the younger vampire again. "ENOUGH!" She pushed him back once more. "I don't care who started it or why. **I** am ending it! God... hundreds of years old and you both act like young teenagers around each other."

Spike looked at her, looking somehow both sheepish and amused all at once. "Sorry love – can't say it won't happen again though."

Buffy sighed as she looked at him for a moment then turned her attention to Angel. "Why don't you take a couple of the Potentials out? We could do with some more medical supplies and I think that you could do with some fresh air."

Angel pouted. "So you're chucking me out because of him?" He eyed Spike as a snicker escaped the blonde idiot.

Buffy rubbed at her forehead where a headache seemed to be rapidly developing. "If I were chucking you out Angel, I would tell you to go to L.A... I'm asking you to go to the hospital and see if you can find any medical supplies we could use. Hell, stop off at Willy's if you so desire and have a few beers if there's any left. IF it'll relax you a little."

Spike smirked. "Yeah, you have a few beers while Buffy and I stay here and relax by having se-" He didn't get a chance to finish his sentence as he was thoroughly smacked around the head by Buffy. "Stop it!" He rolled his eyes but did as she said.

"I think I will take that walk actually Buffy. See you later." Buffy sighed as Angel turned and walked away. After a moment of eyeing Spike, she walked away herself, in an opposite direction from the other vampire.

Buffy turned her attention to Giles for a moment. "Clearly Spike as a bit too much energy – can you put him to good use, training some of the Potentials."

This time, Giles really had to work at stifling a chuckle – of all the tasks Spike had to endure, being used as a punch bag by the Potentials as they practiced was the one he hated the most – at least if he was training with Buffy, he got to fight back. Yet he put up with it for Buffy's sake. Watching Spike get beaten on by just about anyone made Giles' day and was certainly worth having to listen to him complain about it. "Yes actually... good timing. I was actually thinking that Sandra and Lisa needed some extra training."

Xander snickered as a pained groan escaped Spike. "And on that note, I'm off to barricade the door after last night's attack." He looked around. "Colette and Dawn, can you come help me?" He led the two young women off to do just that as Giles headed in the opposite direction, a reluctant Spike following behind him.

**eieio**

Willow walked into the room where Angel was currently grumbling to himself about the unfairness of everything. "Hey... sorry to interrupt your brooding but seeing as you're heading out, we wondered – Tara and I – if it'd be alright if we tagged along?"

Angel blinked, surprised. "You actually want to hang out with me?"

Willow shrugged. "Sure, why not? I haven't been talking much to the Gang in L.A. so it'd be nice if you could catch me up on how everyone is doing. It'll also be good to get a change of scenery without a hundred young females following our every step, giggling if Tara and I do so much as hold hands – they're really getting on my nerves at the moment – you think that so many females would be in good form bearing in mind that they're in a shopping mall."

Angel smiled a little at that. "Cordelia would be in heaven if she were here right now..." He sighed and shook his head, not wanting to think about how possibly close she could be to ending up in actual Heaven. "Sure, why not." He frowned and looked a little edgy. "Xander's not coming along though, is he?"

Willow snorted. "Yeah, I don't really think so. I mean, the guy's married now and happy with Anya – blissfully happy even – but when it comes to Buffy, he's still not really that rational. Even though you're not with her anymore, I guess the habit of hatred is just a little too ingrained..." she stopped talking as she noticed the vampire wincing at her unintentional reminder. "Sorry – as if you need to be reminded."

Angel shrugged it off. "It's fine. Be ready in twenty?"

The Sorceress nodded and excused herself.

**eieio**

The visit to the hospital was uneventful – they wisely chose not to bring any of the Potentials along but did bring Dawn. It was easier and quieter and despite her earlier lecture, Buffy's younger sister appeared to be in good spirits and not in the mood to get on Angel's case. The trio picked up as many supplies as they could find and Angel being the strongest had insisted on carrying everything in a backpack. There hadn't been much left - enough to do though, hopefully.

Afterwards, they decided they may as well go to Willy's as per Buffy's earlier suggestion – none of the trio seemed to be in a hurry to get back and in all honesty, Angel found to his surprise that he felt comfortable in the presence of the three women. They reminded him of Cordelia and Fred and there was a great comfort in that given how much had changed in his life back in L.A. over the last year.

They didn't talk about much of consequence as they sat there – mostly about Dawn's studies in witchcraft and how she too seemed to be a natural - nursing a drink each (coke for Dawn, she still wasn't that fond of the taste of alcohol). It was only as they were deciding whether or not to have a second one that Willy made his appearance.

Willow stared, surprised. "Why are you still here?"

Willy looked a little afraid of them (as he always did). "This is my bar. Hope you paid for those drinks. Just because there's another Apocalypse coming, doesn't mean you don't have to pay me – after all, the Slayer will avert it... as she always does."

Willow sighed. "We did but, you should leave – not like there can be anyone left here to buy your drinks. This is the **big** apocalypse coming - we might not be able to stop it!"

Willy shrugged. "There're still enough demons around to make it viable... even a group of humans, too."

Angel perked up at the thought: fighting the ubervamps was all well and good but there were just so many and no real victims as such. It didn't feel like he was doing anything worthwhile somehow – he supposed he missed L.A. and saving lost individuals. Of course, saving the world from the threat of the First was important obviously but, just so... unrewarding. He didn't get the sense that he had changed a life by removing these particular blights of the face of the earth because there was always another to replace the ones he dispatched. "There are? How many humans are you talking about?"

Willy gave him a look. "Depends... how much are you willing to pay?"

Willow reached out and gently pushed Angel back down as he rose, an expression of fury on his face that the man could try to make money at a time like this. "Willy, how about we don't do this, hmm? Just tell us what we need to know... I mean, not only do you not want to get Angel angry but, do you really want to piss me off?"

Willy wasn't too bothered about the idea of Angel being pissed off – he knew that the women wouldn't allow him to do more than hit him, if that, and he'd survived more than his fair share of beatings in the past - but as the witch's words sunk in, he paled – he had heard about what the woman had been willing to do to Warren... Not that he gave a damn about the freaky man but, he **did** care about what happened to him. "There's a group of humans hiding up at the Plaza. Too afraid to leave Sunnydale – can't afford to I think or they've lived here their whole life and don't want to risk leaving and going elsewhere." In his haste to get his words out before anything bad happened to him, his words tripped over themselves for a moment but Willow's face cleared after a moment as his words sunk in.

Willow looked at the rest of the group. "We should tell Buffy, get them out of here." The others agreed, naturally, finished their drinks and left. Much to Willy's relief, Willow didn't hurt him... but they did finally convince him to leave Sunnydale – or rather, Willow did with a not-too-subtle threat. He'd be back though. He stayed long enough to seal the bar up and fled finally.

**eieio**

Buffy blew a strand of loose hair away from her face as she looked at Willow. "What on earth would make people stay here? I mean, we don't know what's to come or anything but everyone else has fled. Can't they take the hint that something serious is going to happen?"

Giles sighed with relief as he realised that, for now at least, their training session was over. He moved over to the side of the room and grabbed a towel to wipe the sweat from his brow – he hadn't done anything more energetic than stand there holding a bag for the Slayer to punch but his Slayer was apparently getting stronger... or he was getting too old. He chose to believe it was the former. He sat down and turned his attention to Willow. "Did he say how many?"

Willow shrugged. "Does it matter? One is as bad as a hundred, isn't it?"

"Quite."

Buffy sighed. "I'm guessing that if they've lived in Sunnydale their whole life and are too afraid to leave, they must be old and need the help to get out – in their sixties or so?"

Giles shot her a look. "...and that's certainly not at all offensive, Buffy."

The Slayer shrugged apologetically. "No offense intended. Sorry Giles. Just... it's not like Sunnydale has real old people, is it? Well, unless they're planning to turn into giant snakes or are vampires at any rate."

Spike snorted. "Love, think you could stop digging before you hit the actual hellmouth?"

Buffy looked at him, was about to return with a snarky comment but conceded to herself that perhaps he had a point. "Right. So when are we heading out?"

**eieio**

Seven hours later saw a bloodied, slightly broken and most definitely exhausted group returning to the mall. Willy had been right about the humans but totally wrong about the average age of the group – the oldest one was sixty sure, but the rest couldn't have been more than thirty. Unfortunately a simple rescue mission had turned into something more complicated – apparently they weren't the only people Willy had been talking to. Or perhaps the First had been eavesdropping... didn't really matter – point was that when they'd got there to get the group out, they'd been greeted by them... and a huge group of Bringers and quite a few ubervamps. Good job they had decided to make the outing one for all the Potentials as well as the main group – if only to get them into the fresh air.

There had been no deaths or fatal injuries on the part of the Gang and Potentials but there had certainly been more than enough non-fatal injuries. Worse, just as they thought that they were in the clear and were trying to round up the group to get them out safely, they learned that a mother and daughter were holed upstairs.

When they got there, it was to discover that a stray ubervamp had beaten them to it; that the mother had offered up her daughter to save her own life. The girl couldn't have been any more than ten years old. In pure rage at the scene witnessed, Faith had to be held back from beating the crap out of the mother as Buffy attacked the vamp.

Of course it was sent back to hell but as the dust settled, Buffy realised that the girl was bleeding profusely from a deep gash in her stomach... one that they learned had been inflicted by the mother to entice the vamp. The woman hadn't even had the decency to use a clean knife, had just grabbed a twisted and rusty piece of jagged metal. If the wound itself didn't kill her, chances were high that an infection wouldn't. Of course, infection would have hardly been on the cow's mind, given that she expected the monster to eat her daughter to save her own life.

There had been no time for a discussion as to what to do with the wretched woman so they had simply bundled them all into the bus that Spike brought back. Giles packed the girl's wounds as the discussion raged around them. Apparently the excuse for a mother wasn't well liked in the group – it had been for Julie's sake that she had been brought into the group.

If anyone had asked, Giles would have admitted to being impressed by the restraint that the group showed. Instead of beating the woman black and blue, they settled for dropping her off the bus the moment that they cleared the town's limits - they even ensured that she was in a relatively safe area. Any protests that she may have had were quickly stopped when Spike pointed out that their treatment of her was better than the way she had treated her daughter. That bit had of course gone completely over her head so he produced a bottle of whisky and with it in hand, she wandered off quite happily, smiling as the rescued group threatened to kill her if she ever came near Julie again. The whole episode left a sour taste in Giles' mouth (and that of everyone). He was glad to leave the group safely in the care of the hospital in L.A.

**eieieo**

The bus ran out of fuel just as it passed the Plaza again. They ended up walking back to the mall. It was fine. Mostly. There were no more encounters with the First's army but tempers were frayed. It had been a long day and not a particularly nice one. The fact that they had saved a group of citizens was dulled a little by the reminder that there humans out there that could be every bit as evil as any demon.

Noting that Buffy looked as gloomy as his wife currently was, he decided to go talk to her for a while. At least the Slayer wasn't giving him the silent treatment. He hoped.

"Hey Buff... you okay?"

Buffy looked over at him and did her best to smile through the tiredness. "Me? I'm doing great comparatively. I mean, I've only got a ridiculously huge bruise on my shoulder from where that ubervamp tried to club me... you've got that burn down your right side."

Xander winced at the loudness of Buffy's proclamation, cast his gaze to his wife to check that she hadn't heard and breathed a sigh of relief as he noted that the ex-demon was caught up in a discussion with Angel. "Wasn't her fault, Buff. It'd never have happened back in the day... this having one eye business is really crap sometimes."

Buffy apologised. "Sorry. Didn't mean to suggest it was. To be fair, the distraction of the fire coming towards that vamp probably saved Juanita and Jennifer's life. It's just unfortunate that you got blindsided is all. Have to say though, your reflexes are nothing to complain about – fairly certain that if it had been anyone else who'd had a flaming torch aimed at their mid-section out of nowhere, they'd have frozen and been burnt a lot worse rather than just the glancing blow you took."

Xander grinned. "Imagine what I could do if I had sight in both eyes... might even be the hero in this town - if of course, there wasn't you, Willow, Tara, Faith and a couple of hundred Potentials who are all stronger than me, that is."

Buffy smiled wryly. "Being the 'hero' really isn't all it's cracked up to be, Xander. But you have to know that well enough by now... don't you?"

After a moment of thought, Xander agreed then changed the subject to something a little more upbeat.

**eieio**

Anya was feeling guilty. It wasn't really an emotion she liked or had much particular experience with but there was no denying she was feeling it now – she had been trying to save two Potentials who were in the wrong place but as she was swinging that flaming torch at the vamp, Xander had clearly had the same idea – he was moving to stick a sword into the same vamp. The result had been that the torch had scorched along Xander's side. It looked painful and that made her feel bad. In the end, someone else had removed the ubervamp from the scene. She wasn't sure who. She supposed it didn't matter anyway. "Who keeps a lit torch in a Plaza anyway, Angel? It's ridiculous! I mean, we're not living in the dark ages!"

Angel shrugged. "Anya, it's Sunnydale... whether people realise it or not, they've placed things everywhere which can be used to dispatch a vampire."

Anya blinked and thought that over for a moment. "Oh! You're right. Huh."

Angel nodded. "We've met before, haven't we? A couple of centuries back, give or take."

The ex-demon looked confused. "I don't think so. You have a recognisable face. I'm sure I would remember..."

Unsure whether having a recognisable face was a good or bad thing in this context, Angel decided to forget the comment. He nodded slowly. "It was quite a while ago now – back when Dru first turned Spike... you were hanging around with Halfrek who was stalking him."

Anya's face took on a pensive look as she tried to think that far back. "Oh... yes. You had different hair back then... and clothes. Though, I must say that you still dressed very well for a vampire even back then – normally you all get stuck in a rut. Although you could do with little less black – it's a little stereotypical, isn't it?" She shrugged. "Hal was a little obsessed with Spike back in the day. Never did say why." She looked at him, hoping he would shed some light.

Angel snorted. "They knew each other when they were both human. She spurned his advances, then Drusilla turned him and he proceeded to kill everyone who had ever made fun of him – apart from her. Given that she's now a demon, I suspect she didn't react too well to witnessing that particularly gruesome scene. He became very fond of the railway spike as a means to end human life for a while after that. Loved the irony, I guess... a vampire killing a human with a stake." He rolled his eyes and fell silent, surprised that he had said so much in one go.

Anya thought on that. "Huh. That's... I always assumed she became a demon because her father deserted her or was evil to her in some way – would have explained why she had such a soft spot for abandoned children."

Angel thought on that for a moment. "I think her father was there but not among those who were killed. Perhaps he left her to it to save his own skin." He grimaced a little, reminded of Julie's mother. "Some people just aren't fit to be parents." Like he was one to talk! He sighed and looked away.

Anya frowned. "I feel guilty for burning Xander." She couldn't help blurting it out.

Angel was for a moment, lost for words. He had to take a moment to process that. "Oh right. Look, it's not that big a deal, Anya. Yes, it'll be sore for a while but it's not like you did it on purpose, is it?" He smiled as the young woman shook her head fervently, couldn't quite stop the thought that if it had been him holding the torch, he'd have been more than tempted... then again, if it was him holding the torch, he would have had a different – and even more annoying - creature in his sights. He cast his gaze briefly over to the peroxide idiot in question then shook his head - he was a really bad person – whether he liked Spike or not, Buffy loved him and the idiot seemed to make her happy. He should be grateful for that small mercy at least. He pushed the thoughts aside to focus on what Anya was saying. "He doesn't exactly look like a man holding a grudge." He pointed over to the man in question who was laughing at a shared joke between him and Buffy.

Anya sighed even as she acknowledged the fact. "I still feel guilty."

"And you will – and should. It's a reminder that you're human. Mind you, I suspect that even in your demon years, you showed more compassion than that pitiful excuse for a mother that we rescued today." The comment gave Anya a surprising amount of comfort.

**eieio**

Xander had wandered off from Buffy, decided to head over to Robin who was looking bewildered – he'd had some sort of argument with Faith. Probably in relation to the fact that the teacher had thought it wise to jump in front of the Slayer in a fight, to protect her. "Hey, how ya doin'?"

Robin looked at him, an exasperated expression on his face. "Aside from a bruised ego, I'm fine. You?"

Xander glanced briefly down to his side. "I'll live. I take it Faith gave you a lecture."

Robin nodded. "She can take care of herself - message received, loud and clear."

The younger man snorted and shook his head. "Slayers! Nah, scratch that... Women!" He grinned at the other man and they fell into a companionable silence.

**eieio**

It was to Spike's irritation that he realised that not only had Buffy left him to go off and talk to others in the gang but he had drawn level with Angel. He decided though, to be the bigger man – sure, he could point out (again) that he got to be with Buffy rather than Angel but, that point was definitely well and truly made, wasn't it? Besides, mentioning their relationship to the poofter seemed to annoy his Slayer and he didn't want her pissed off at him unless it would result in a fight. Or sex. Or both! This new silent treatment was just really annoying.

It was therefore, rather a bewildering situation he found himself in, having a full-on war of words with the older vampire. He knew that even years later, he'd still be bewildered by how this particular fight had started.

He groaned loudly though, when Buffy was yet again the one to break it up after Angel landed a punch on his face. **"Damn it! Not the FACE!"**

Buffy shoved them both apart. "Ugh! How many times do I have to split you two up?" She glared at them both in turn and shook her head. Much to his consternation, she gave her attention to Angel. "You okay?" The younger growled. "**I'm** the one he hit, Slayer."

The Slayer eyed him. "And I'm sure that you did nothing to deserve it!" She shook her head and despaired for a moment. "Stay as far away as possible from each other, okay? Angel, you go over there... Spike, go to the other side. If either of you tries to start anything again before we get back to the mall, I swear to god I'll stake you both!" She glared even more ferociously at them both.

Spike decided it was best to say nothing else, turned and stalked off to talk to Dawn. He took a little comfort from the fact that at least **his** woman didn't follow the dickhead to offer him comfort.

Dawn looked at Spike and smirked. "You have such a cute, pouty expression right now – makes you look like one of those big-eyed puppies in the poster I had up on my wall at home." When he turned to glare, Dawn only laughed. "Oh please, I'm not scared of you, Big Bad." Spike sagged a little, missing the days now long gone when people showed him respect. "Thanks for that, Little Bit."

The woman laughed again and patted his arm. "Ah don't worry Spike – she's not going to choose him over you... for starters, if she did, I'd have to kick her butt."

Spike brightened considerably. "Now that I think I'd pay to see – you could take him, I know it."

Dawn grinned and flexed the muscles in her arm. "Oh yeah. Angel wouldn't stand a chance against me. He'd be dust before he could even raise a finger." She snorted and shook her head. "It's a good job that I seem to have a flair for magic because while the moves come naturally enough, the training that goes with all the fighting does not."

Spike patted her shoulder consolingly. "Ah, but you've got the moves and the magic – that's a killer combination right there, little bit."

**eieio**

When they got back to the mall, Buffy ensured that everyone was accounted for and getting some form of treatment for their multitude of cuts and bruises then headed outside to sit and think. It didn't really surprise her when a short while later, Angel appeared at her side – or as close as he could get given that it was daylight and he needed to stand in the shade to ensure that he didn't combust. "You okay?"

The Slayer shrugged. "Not exactly a great night, was it?"

Angel snorted and allowed himself to slide down the wall until he was sitting on the ground. "Definitely not in my top ten. This isn't going to be a walk in the park, is it? I mean, today was just a small taster, I'm guessing."

Buffy managed a faint smile. "We're out of our league. Hasn't exactly stopped us in the past though, has it? Who knew we'd get this far!" She looked over at him. "You have to go back to L.A."

More than a little taken aback at her words, Angel could only stare for a moment. "What? Why? You need me here."

A sigh escaped her. "Can't deny that an extra pair of hands would be appreciated but, the fact is that if we can't manage to defeat this thing with the amount of us here already, then one more on our side really isn't going to matter. I shouldn't have let you stay here – it was selfish."

Angel objected. "No. It's not. I want to be here."

Her smile was a little brighter when it came. "Perhaps. But you don't belong here anymore - no offence... you have a life back in L.A. You have people who need you. I've got Spike. It's just not fair of me to keep you here – not fair on you, not fair on him... not fair on Wesley and the rest either."

He looked set to protest again but she stopped him. "It's not that I don't want you here, Angel but, this thing is bigger than us. Bigger than I think that maybe we can deal with... If we fail – and we might - I need to know that you and the rest are ready in L.A. for whatever comes next."

It took a further hour to convince him but finally he reluctantly agreed to go. Buffy hugged him tight and blinked back tears. "Oh! There's something I need to tell you... "Fred... she'll be in danger."

Alarmed, Angel pulled back from her. "In danger? What? When? How can you know that?"

Buffy sighed. "It's too complicated to explain to you right now. Maybe later, after the fight... if I survive... What you need to know though, is that there's a guy – Knox, in the science department." She looked pleased to have remembered his name. At least she had remembered that much because the name of the creature to be resurrected had slipped entirely from her mind. "He's really bad news. He wants to bring back an ancient god-type called Al Leary or something. I forget. Anyway, point is, get rid of him! Or at least force HIM to be the one to open any Egyptian-style coffins rather than Fred. I mean, admittedly the god-type could become a great ally in time but, it's really not worth losing Fred over, is it?"

That was a point that Angel wouldn't even try to contest. He'd lost so much and so many already – he wouldn't lose Fred too. He made a mental note to get rid of Knox to some other part of the firm. Far, FAR away from his friend. He sighed and shook his head. "I'll get rid of him... but I'm holding you to the promise that you'll tell how you know this later, when you're done with this fight."

**eieio**

Though Spike wouldn't admit it, he couldn't help feeling a little sad watching Angel leave the group and head back home but he'd take that secret to his grave with him – or whatever the expression was when it was a vampire talking. He rolled his eyes at the stupid thought... he was turning into a Scooby and no mistake. He looked at Buffy. "You okay, love?"

Buffy looked away from the retreating figure of the car carrying her ex-lover away. "Fine." She couldn't help but worry though. Selfish or not, Angel being there for that amulet would have been the best thing all round but now he was gone. She didn't want to lose Spike... She sighed and nuzzled in to him. "I love you... you know that, right? I mean not only are you the guy I love but, you're my best friend."

Spike blinked in surprise and wrapped an arm around her. Apparently the silent treatment was over, thank God. "I know it. I love you too. Always will."


	53. The Big Reveal

Buffy looked around the group of scoobies currently squeezed into the smallest store – the only one with no Potentials floating around. "Okay, I know this seems like a really crazy idea-"

Giles frowned heavily as he butted in. "It's not so much crazy as completely mind-blowing, Buffy. Nothing like this has ever been done before. It will change everything... it's... it's bloody brilliant!" He grinned at his Slayer, impressed once again that she had pulled a brilliant idea out of her hat when neither he nor Willow – nor indeed Dawn had been able to.

Buffy grinned back at him. "It's not bad, is it?" The Slayer allowed herself to bask in the moment. Why not? She knew this would work – Willow might not be as strong as she had been previously but, she had Tara and the Coven and whatever magical resources the Watchers' council could round up... then again, probably best not to include them unless necessary – the more people who knew, the more chance the First would find out and be ready for them. That would never do.

Willow spoke up then, her voice rather shaky. "Buffy... this is... all well and good but... I think that you're forgetting that... I've only just started doing magic again after everything... now you want me to do THIS? I mean, this is bigger than anything I've ever done before. How do you even know I can pull this off without losing it again?"

Buffy tilted her head as she looked at her friend, genuinely confused by the question. "Because you're you Willow. I trust you – I know you can do this. Besides, it's not just you – you have Tara, don't you? Tara would never let anything bad happen to you."

Tara swallowed audibly as the Slayer turned her attention to her. "I... how do you know that **I** can do this, Buffy?"

For a moment, Buffy fantasised that she could just sit them all down and tell them all about the Mirror; that she could make them understand that everything was going to be okay...

... but that state of deluded bliss couldn't last for long. Perhaps Xander would try to lighten the moment by being stunned that there was a reality where she hadn't rescued the Star Wars figurines from the nerds' house for him... More likely, Xander and Anya would fall out over the fact that Xander hadn't originally gone through with the Wedding or someone would be even more disgusted with her than she was with herself about the fact that once again Jonathan had died.

Then there was the fact that the whole revelation could cause major problems among the group – probably Robin (as the newest member of the scoobies, and less used to their 'deal with it and move on fast' policy) with his obvious history of holding a grudge would point out that she had withheld important information from them that she had no right to; that she had no right to make such decisions for them. And he would be right but made them, she had.

No, she would take this particular secret to her grave – it was her burden to bear after all, no one else. "With great power comes great responsibility."

Buffy hadn't realised she had spoken aloud until she registered that everyone was staring at her curiously. The Slayer shrugged. "Look, the spell will call up a lot of magic but it's not like the magic you used before, Willow – You took Rack's magic and that was as corrupted as it's possible to get. The Slayer essence is pure magic, untainted by evil. GOOD magic. You're going to be fine. You both will. I KNOW you can do this."

Robin snorted. "Is this the bit where you tell us you had another Slayer dream?"

The Slayer resisted the urge to glare at the man. "No Robin. I just have faith in their abilities."

Robin shook his head a little, seemingly unimpressed. "Guess you had better be right or else we will all be dead, won't we?"

Spike growled. "Mate, no one is telling you to stay if there's somewhere more important you need to be."

Faith scowled. "Hey! Keep out of it blondie!"

Sensing that things could turn ugly if someone didn't intervene, Giles stood up and eyed everyone in turn. "I would point out that if we don't do something, we will all die anyway. So why not die on our own terms?" He let that sink in for a moment. "...now, for the moment, I think that we should end this discussion right now – I suggest we all go our separate ways to cool down. Does anyone have any objections?"

**eieio**

Buffy sighed as she looked around the group assembled in the centre of the mall. They were all looking to her for guidance. She would love to say that it felt good but it didn't - it was just kind of creepy.

She couldn't deny though, that everyone there seemed to have become dispirited since Angel's departure - even those with previous history... **especially** those with previous history. Her gaze turned to them all in turn, settling on Xander and a soft sigh escaped her.

Apparently the fact that she had sent Angel away was being seen as a sign that the Slayer didn't expect to win this fight. Obviously she couldn't blame them for thinking that way... After all, she had felt the same way the first time around, even after the surprisingly brilliant (and probably somehow, not really hers) idea had hit her.

Without further thought, Buffy ploughed in. "Look, I understand that you are all rather upset and you have every reason to be - that fight was hard and the mother was... Worse and more evil than any demon or hellgod that I have encountered... Sadly, as Slayers, it's not the last time that you will see people sacrifice others to save themselves. Humans can be cruel but, they're not part of our mission statement un-"

Jane butted in and, while her Texan accent usually made her smile, she couldn't hold back the soft sigh at her comment: "But we're **not** Slayers, Buffy. This is **your** mission – yours and Faith's. At least, until Faith dies, right? Then one of us will be Called... What use are any of us really?"

Buffy looked at the tall woman for a moment and nodded slowly. Her gaze moved from her then, over the entire group to finally rest on Willow and Tara who were both looking rather pale and out of it. She smiled faintly and turned her attention back to the group. "It's a valid point Jane, and I'm glad you brought it up... It is just me and Faith... But what if we could change it? One girl in all the world... because a group of stupid men – and I know because I met them – don't ask – decided! I think it's time we changed the rules. Those men were powerful but, they were nowhere near as powerful as these two women here." She pointed to Willow and Tara and smiled encouragingly at them. The two witches managed weak smiles in return.

Noting the clueless looks being aimed at her from everyone who wasn't a scooby, Buffy reached over and took the Scythe from Spike. She held it up so that the Potentials' gazes were drawn to it. "This... This is going to change things – it carries the essence of Slayers just as we do. Willow and Tara and maybe some Coven members can work their mojo to turn you all from mere Potentials to actual Slayers..."

The Slayer looked around the group, stayed silent as they noisily talked amongst themselves, trying to wrap their heads around what they had just heard. Buffy hadn't realised how tense she was until hands rested on her shoulders, causing her to jump. She turned her head and smiled a little at her lover. "They're taking it better than I expected."

Spike shrugged. "They want to fight, Buffy. I think it's pre-programmed in you all. I mean as humans rather than in Potentials or Slayers. We all want to fight against the darkness. Being a Slayer gives you the tools to do it."

Buffy considered him. "Were there many Bogey-men around when you were alive?"

The vampire smiled faintly. "There are always Bogey-men, love. I think back when I was alive, people were actually more willing to believe – can't imagine the people that I grew up with being as blind to the bad things as the people of Sunnydale were, that's for sure."

The blonde turned her attention from the conversation as she realised the room had grown quiet once more. Looking at the group, it was Jane who spoke up once more, apparently their spokesperson for the moment. "Buffy, the idea of becoming a full-blown Slayer... that's amazing but what if we don't want it?"

Buffy thought about it. "If you all decide this isn't for you, then I guess it won't happen. I can't deny that's going to make things harder but I can't imagine that you're really willing to do that, are you? I mean, as Potentials, you're strong but it's as nothing as compared to becoming a Slayer – you also heal a lot faster too. I can't make the decision for you though. So tell me what you all want to do?"

Jane looked around at the group, received only encouraging nods. "Of course we want it, Buffy. We'd be mad not to right? What of us though, who don't?"

The Slayer sighed. "This is an all or nothing kinda deal, Jane. We can't pick and choose who gets to become a Slayer and who doesn't. Best that I can offer is that those who don't want to take part in this fight can leave. Right now – that goes especially for you, Sheena, Angela and Ellen. In fact, for you three, I insist you leave!"

This caused another stir among the young women. Buffy just leaned back into Spike's embrace and waited for someone to speak clearly. This time it was Rhona.

"Why them especially, Buffy?"

Buffy looked over at Sheena who merely shrugged, unworried if the others knew apparently. "Because yesterday Sheena did a pregnancy test and it came back positive. As for Angela and Ellen, they have been sneaking out of here to go to the Bronze for drinks. It's nothing but pure, dumb luck that they have survived this long. I don't want them here because they're a liability – getting drunk instead of training once in a while wouldn't be an issue even now but, doing it every single time is. Do any of you want Angela or Ellen watching your backs?"

Angela spoke up. Ellen appeared to have shrunken behind her. "It wasn't like that. This is just too intense... everyone needs to unwind now and then, Buffy."

"I'm aware of that Angela, but not at the expense of everyone else who will suffer due to your lack of training. You and Ellen will be escorted safely out of Sunnydale tonight along with Sheena. End of story – unless anyone wants you to stay?" The two women looked around the room, no one spoke up in their defence. "Pack up your things."

Ellen spoke up then. "That's not fair – if you saw us sneaking out, why didn't you say something then?"

It was Giles who answered. "Honestly Ellen, we have more important things to be worrying about than two silly little girls who would rather get drunk than learn how to stay alive – we can't force anyone to be here. Clearly you don't want to be here so just go and don't make a big fuss about it. That goes doubly for you, Angela - after all, you were the one to report to Andrew when Hannah and Camille slipped out... And look how that ended!" He looked around the group. "Slayers or not soon enough, anyone who doesn't want to be here should leave tonight right along with them."

**eieio**

The future Slayers moved out quickly enough after Giles' scolding – much shorter and to the point than any of hers had been in the past – and for that Buffy was glad. She turned and looked around at the group.

"Was I right to send Angela and Ellen away?"

Willow nodded enthusiastically. "Absolutely. They'd be more of a hindrance than a help – the only reason that we didn't send them away before with the Watchers and newer Potentials was that they weren't there at the time."

Xander moved to speak but was beaten to the punch by Andrew. "So what now, Buffy? What's the great plan before all hell breaketh loose? Or do we just hang about, wait for first light..?"

Buffy smiled a little as she considered it. "How about you all play a game of Dungeons and Dragons?"

"'You all'? Aren't you going to be here, Buffy?"

The Slayer turned to look at Willow, smiled. "There's a little something I need to do first, Will – or rather there's something that I need to pick up. Then yeah. Though, maybe not D&D..."

Spike looked at her. "You want some company?"

Buffy smiled. "Sure." Her gaze drifted over the rest of the scoobies. "We should take Sheena and the other two out of town while we're at it. If we take the van, there's room for a few more..." She looked around the scoobies. "Anyone else wanna tag along for a few hours?"

Dawn brightened. "I'll come. Could do with a change of scenery."

Andrew raised his hand but deflated a little as he was ignored in favour of Xander and Anya. Buffy patted his shoulder. "Don't be upset, Andrew - you can keep the rabble in check when they play D and D."

Andrew sniffed a little. "I just hope they know how to play." He wandered off to the toy store to gather supplies.

Buffy turned and looked at Giles. "We'll be back in five or so hours. That okay?"

Giles considered then nodded. "We have Faith, Willow and Tara as well as ourselves. We'll be fine."

**eieio**

A/N: Thanks to Jen for reviewing and pointing my rather humungous error. It's fixed now. :)


	54. Fun & Games Pt 1

After Willow had a quick telephone conversation with Angel, it was established that instead of taking the girls to the nearest bus station or driving them to L.A, they would drive out and Gunn would meet them halfway. Buffy could think of no reason to complain so nodded her agreement.

It took her a further half hour to find the three Potentials, help them get their few possessions gathered up and get them and the scoobies out of the mall. She looked back at Giles. "We have our phones with us – if you need us, call!"

Her Watcher smiled a little. "We'll be fine, Buffy – don't worry about us. The remaining Potentials and Andrew have given me a list to pass to you... things of such vital importance that they can't bear to be without for another second."

Buffy took the link and snorted as she read the first item on the list. "X-men comic... I'm assuming that's Andrew's?"

Giles shrugged. "And Alicia's apparently – she threatened him until he agreed that after it was read through, she would be the one to keep it. Andrew was too afraid to point out that they could of course buy two."

The Slayer grinned at that. "I like her. Even with all the sci-fi stuff, she's cool. Why couldn't Andrew be as cool as she is?"

The man's expression turned grim. "Clearly a god somewhere is punishing us for his shortcomings – or ours."

Buffy nodded sadly. "I think you might have a point there, Giles." She sighed and took the Credit Card he offered over, making a mental note of the pin number he gave her. "You know what, I might have complained about the Council in the past – and probably will again – but this Card they left is just... fabulous." She and her Watcher shared a smile. "You want me to bring you back anything? Chocolate, a guitar... whiskey maybe?"

Giles groaned at the thought. "God yes – it's so tempting... all three would be very welcome to dull the pain of so many teenagers acting like, well, teenagers."

Xander, who had been walking, past with something Anya had decided she absolutely HAD to bring with her, snorted with laughter. "I'm with ya on that, Giles – who knew being surrounded by so many females could be so exhausting. One thing I definitely don't wish for... to go back to High School and live it all again." He shuddered and walked on.

Giles shook his head and laughed as he looked at Buffy. "He has a point."

Buffy nodded. "Very much so... I wasn't that bad, was I?"

The ex-librarian pondered that for a moment. "No. You were not." He nodded towards the car. "You should go. Or we'll end up having to delay another day."

Buffy nodded then on impulse moved closer to the Watcher and hugged him. "Thank you Giles. For being here, for helping me get through all this."

A little surprised, it took him a moment to react but then Giles hugged her back. "Where else would I be, Buffy? You've all become the children I never had... well, maybe not Andrew."

Buffy was still laughing as she climbed into the vehicle along with the rest of the small group.

**eieio**

Giles' good mood evaporated quickly enough as he entered the building to be greeted by the loud din that only a large group of teenage girls could cause. "As Danny Glover once said, 'I'm too old for this shit.'" With a weary sigh, he headed in the direction of the cacophony of sound.

The older man could only stare in a mixture of bewilderment and disbelief at the sight that met his eyes. "Andrew, why are you standing on the table, dressed in Little Red Riding Hood's cape?"

Andrew squawked before turning his gaze to the older man. "It's **not!** I'm the Dungeon Master!"

Giles sighed. It was going to be a long night. He wandered off to make himself a cup of tea – at least that was something - since they had taken over the mall, he could finally get a decent cup of tea within its walls. Every cloud...

**eieio**

For a moment Andrew just watched the figure of the departing man but as soon as he turned around the corner out of sight, the 'Dungeon Master' turned his attention back to the almost-screaming women at his feet. When he realised that they just weren't listening, he raised his fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. It had the desired, time-honoured effect and made them all shut up. Thank God!

"**What is wrong with you people? We are here to enjoy each others' company and to partake in the true genius of D&D – not to fight amongst ourselves about who gets to sit where... Just sit down and shut up and let's get to enjoying ourselves!"**

The women were so surprised to be shouted at in this manner by Andrew of all people that they did exactly that. Well, they got as far as sitting down around the table. That was progress... Now they were fighting over who would do what.

Andrew sighed. **"If you're not going to listen to me, I'm telling Buffy!" ** This did not have the desired effect. "I'll tell Faith..!" he didn't even have to shout that one – they all just shut right up. Wow! So they weren't afraid of Buffy but were afraid of Faith. All because she had killed a man? That hardly seemed fair – he had (almost) killed a man. He'd at the very least been in some way responsible for Jonathan's death and maybe... maybe if he'd talked Warren down, he wouldn't have gone as far as he had.

That last thought made him sober up and realise just why he was upset... was he actually wanting to have murdered someone just so that the women in front of him would listen to him? Was he **insane**?

He took a deep breath, let it out slowly and took another before speaking again. "Okay. Let's start again, shall we? I knocked some of the pieces to the ground when I had to jump up on the table, so could someone kindly lift them up and we can get started..? Please remember this time that D&D deserves your respect even if you don't think anyone else in the room does."

Rhona snorted. "It's a game, Andrew. Nothing more!" She rolled her eyes as both Andrew and Alicia gasped.

Alicia's tone was indignant as she spoke. "Rhona, are you mad? It's not just a silly game! It's a game of goals and consequences, and learning to rise up to the occasion in spite of your flaws – I mean in spite of your character's flaws... Playing a hero can teach you how to **be** a hero when the need arises. Isn't that something that everyone here in this room could benefit from?"

Rhona snorted in amusement this time but managed to keep her face straight. She lifted her hands up in a gesture of surrender. "Okay... you win, Alicia. It's a **really important** game... that you and Andrew can agree on apparently. That's great for you both. Maybe when we're all done here, you and Andrew can go off and have little elf babies... or whatever they are in D&D."

Alicia's lips thinned and she looked ready to jump into a fight but the momentum was spoiled when Faith and Robin spilled into the room. They all turned to look at them, following their loud entrance.

Suddenly aware that there were people watching them, Faith and Robin sprang apart from a rather heated embrace. Faith spoke as she hastily rearranged her ruffled clothing. "Crap. Weren't you all supposed to be in the other room?"

Andrew blinked. Had they just been about to... hmm, actually that was an interesting thought and he would have to consider it later but for right now... "They started playing some weird version of Spin the Bottle. Don't see how that's going to work. I mean, who are they all going to kiss?"

Rhona sighed and looked heavenward. "They're not playing Spin the Bottle THAT way... they're using it to play Truth or Dare and actually, I can't take another moment of this weirdness so I'm going over to them. Anyone else not having fun, come with me."

Faith and Robin looked at each other then quickly left the room with the handful of Potentials who decided that playing Truth or Dare was a better idea.

**eieio**

Originally, Buffy had figured they could just put the three Potentials on a bus to L.A. the moment that they were safely out of Sunnydale but she didn't trust Angela and Ellen not to bail on Sheena and leave her alone. Three Potentials should be fine if they stuck together, but one pregnant Potential on her own...

She could of course, have threatened the two... something along the lines of how, if they ditched her, and Sheena and her unborn baby died, the Slayer would hunt them down and make them regret it – even if she was dead... but it was just easier to get on the bus with the three and ensure they were safe.

She sat beside Dawn because as they were boarding the bus, Spike's phone had gone off. From the vague content that had made it to her ears, she assumed it was Clem. That was good – it meant he was okay, wherever he was. She had wondered last time around as they hadn't heard a thing after Sunnydale went to hell. Then again, perhaps he'd always considered himself to be Spike's friend rather than hers. "I'm having a really bad shoe craving. You think that counts as an emergency enough to put it on the card?"

Dawn snorted. Her eyes were innocently wide as she spoke. "Buffy, I was totally there – your heel just **snapped** when you were chasing after that really big demon. What else would the Council have had you do? After all, the majority of your clothes are down in the Initiative and the rest of your stuff is out of town. They could hardly expect you to slay barefoot, could they?" She grinned mischievously at her older sister but then sobered a little. "Seriously though, it's kinda the least that they could do for you anyway. Where were they when we really needed them? And I'm not talking about when you were gone because they didn't **know** about that but what about when Mom..?"

Buffy wrapped an arm around her sister's shoulder and hugged her close. "I think we both deserve some new shoes."

Spike was still grinning as he made his way back to the top of the bus, sitting in the seat in front of the two sisters. "That was Clem. I've been trying to get in touch with him since I came back from getting that pesky soul... you'll never guess who he's dating..."

Dawn shrugged. "The girl that Buffy brought to her birthday party?"

The older woman piped up. "Sophie. Her name is Sophie."

The vampire pouted a little, disappointed that they'd beaten him to the punch. "How did you know?"

Buffy snorted. "They did seem quite close when we all finally got to leave... so they're still together?"

Spike's grin reasserted itself. "With bells on – they're moving in together!"

Dawn choked at that. "And she doesn't mind that he's a kitten-gambling demon?"

The blonde man grinned and looked between the two women. "Apparently she said it takes all sorts to make a world, so why not?"

Buffy chuckled. "Well, good luck to them – I hope they have many happy years together." She frowned as a thought came to her then. "Hey, can I borrow your phone? I'd use mine but I figure they're more likely to call it if there's a problem at the mall. No offence meant."

Spike shrugged. "None taken." He handed his phone over easily enough then moved to sit beside Dawn when Buffy took it with thanks and moved over to the quieter part of the bus to make the call.

The blonde came back half an hour later looking happy. "I meant to do it sooner but everything's been so busy..." She rolled her eyes at Dawn's quizzical look. "That was Cassie, sorry – she's basically fine. She's living happily with her Dad in San Francisco. She's even given up on the emo poetry. She informed me that everything is going to be okay. It might take a while to get there but It'll be fine."

Spike took back and pocketed his cell once more then turned to look at Dawn. "Anyone you want to call, Niblet?"

Dawn waved the phone away. "I'm good." After a moment, she reconsidered – this was a free call after all. What teenager could refuse such an offer? "Actually can I change my mind? It'd be good to talk to Mabel... and Janice? Check that they're okay..."

Spike nodded and handed the phone over before standing up to let her past. He sat down in her seat by the window and gazed out into the night for a moment before Buffy sat down on his lap. The sudden action forced his thoughts back into the present.

Buffy traced her lover's cheek lightly with her right hand. "What's up?"

Never one to miss a chance to lower the tone, Spike smirked. "One very important thing, if you keep up that wriggling."

Buffy hastily placed her hand over Spike's mouth as she gave him a dirty look. "The rest are just across the aisle, Spike."

Spike snorted. "Right. Anya and Xander might be just a little too preoccupied with each other to hear what we say – I almost feel sorry for Angela, stuck sitting beside them. Almost."

The Slayer glanced over and couldn't quite manage to hold back a laugh. She buried her head against Spike's shoulder to smother any giggles that might escape – Xander and his wife were definitely making out as she sat on his lap... which wouldn't be so bad but for the fact that Angela was stuck in the seat beside them.

**eieio**


	55. Fun & Games Pt 2

Buffy finally took pity on Angela – it wasn't that she or Ellen were particularly bad people, they just weren't ready for the whole world-saving agenda and boy, could she identify with that! Given that Spike and Dawn were currently lost in a deep discussion relating to Passions, (Dawn had started watching it with Joyce when she had been sick and hadn't managed to break the habit) she didn't think that they would mind if she went to break up the love-fest that Xander and Anya were currently engaged in.

She stood beside the couple and was totally ignored by them. She cast a sympathetic glance at Angela for being stuck beside them – she couldn't even turn around to talk to Ellen who was sitting behind them for fear of catching sight of anything she didn't want to see. The Slayer tapped Xander on the shoulder. "Hey, I hate to break up the moment but do you think I could talk to Angela and Ellen? Please."

As Xander came up for breath, he had the grace to look embarrassed. "Sorry Buff... Sorry Angela." Anya however just looked annoyed. "Oh fine, whatever. It's not like we're lacking time together with a load of teenage girls bursting into the room you're in at every second of the day." Buffy only had time to raise a brow at the ex-demon's tone and the way it dripped with sarcasm before the other woman stood up, grabbed Xander's hand and almost dragged him to the back of the bus for some more 'privacy'. "Why couldn't we have gotten a bus with toilets in it, Xander? At least that way we could enjoy some sex without being interrupted every five minutes."

Buffy shook her head, amused at the usual frankness from her friend but then tuned the rest of the couple's conversation out to focus on the two Potentials – Sheena was currently sleeping on the seat beside Ellen but this conversation didn't concern her so Buffy saw no reason to wake her up. She knelt sideways on the vacant seat so that she could look at both of the young woman. "What exactly was so exciting about the Bronze? As far as I know, every human has already vacated the town... you're not into demons, are you? Or hoping to become a vampire..?"

Both of the Potentials looked horrified at the thought though Angela was the one to speak. "God no... of course not! It was just... it was... we could pretend to be normal, you know? For a moment, the fate of the world wasn't resting on our shoulders – we could just be normal teenagers. Or at least as close as it was possible to get. Look, I know you probably don't understand but, it was just nice to take time out from the training -and the learning to slay stuff- to be normal and have a drink or two... we didn't ever get drunk and we were always super-careful and it's not like we missed **every** training session..."

Buffy cut the woman off with a wave of her hand. "Clearly you were missing either physically or mentally during my 'I was once a normal girl too' speech - I know what it's like but this is serious! Don't you get that? The First is using its Bringers and other agents to kill Potentials... that means girls just like you, whether you like it or not. Maybe that doesn't seem that real to you but I'm sure in the moments before their deaths, it felt pretty real to Hannah, Camille, Chloe and Kennedy to name but a few."

Both women looked suitably chastened as her words sunk in. "You're right, Buffy. What we did was unfair. It just seemed that everything was rushing at us. Such pressure, you know?" She gestured to the sleeping Potential beside her. "I wish I could say that I was as brave as **she** is – she's angry about the fact that she can't be in this fight even as she's thrilled to be carrying new life." The young woman lowered her head, ashamed.

Buffy sighed – she didn't really want to make the two feel bad. "Look, I get it, okay? It's a lot of pressure... I just don't want anyone else dying needlessly. Actually, I don't want anyone dying any more, well before their time...unless their 'name happens to be The First but that's hugely wishful thinking – I really wish we lived in a world where demons and vampires and the First didn't even exist except in books and films and TV shows, and that you could all grow up normally and have a normal life but we don't... I need you both to promise that when you get to L.A, you will stay with Angel and Gunn and the rest until they feel you've learned enough to protect yourselves... can you do that - for yourselves if not for me or anyone else?"

The two women nodded. "I do not wish to die, Buffy." - Ellen again. The Slayer smiled at her, glad she had finally gotten her point across. She looked at Angela who nodded also. "Okay... good. Lecture over - we should be there in about fifteen minutes, half an hour ahead of schedule thanks to the crazy driving that got us to the station. We've got some time to do a bit of shoe shopping. Are you both in?" She pulled the credit card out of her pocket and waved it in front of her, a smile on her face. What the heck – the least the Council could do was pay for some shoes.

The two women grinned back at her and she felt herself relax at the same time that they did.

**eieio**

Faith and Robin had given up on the idea of privacy after they'd happened upon Andrew and the rest arguing over Dungeons and Dragons. That didn't mean that they had to stay in the room though, listening to the crazy people – they had followed Rhona and the rest out of the room and figured they may as well join them. If nothing else, it might be diverting.

When they had all settled, Rhona continued to take charge. "I'll start." She set the bottle down in the centre of the group and spun it. When it landed on Gina – a Potential with stereotypical Spanish looks but who had one of the broadest Scottish accents ever heard by a lot of the people in the room, her face took on a thoughtful expression. "Truth or Dare, Gina?"

Gina shrugged. "Dare. Sure, how about from now on, the person spinning the bottle decides. It'll be more interesting that way."

Rhona shrugged. No one contested the idea. "Fine." Then she smirked almost evilly. "Go into the other room and snog Andrew – with tongues and everything. Any volunteers to ensure she does it?" She rolled her eyes when no one offered. "Up to me then... wimps!"

Gina sighed. "Can ah choose Truth instead?" She already knew that there was no hope for her but there was no harm in asking, right?"

Rhona laughed. "Nope, suck it up and let's go."

**eieio**

Andrew was absolutely bewildered. What was the pretty Spanish girl doing, pulling him away from the table? Why was she kissing him? Was that her **tongue** against his lips? Did she have a **tongue ring**? He squeaked and pulled away from her, his eyes wide. "What... what was that?"

Gina shrugged indifferently. "Rhona made me do it."

Andrew looked at the other Potential in confusion, resisting the urge to wipe his lips to erase the Potential's lingering saliva from them. "You said that there would be no kissing."

Rhona shrugged. "I lied." She laughed and grabbed Gina's hand before pulling her out of the room, almost bouncing with good humour as she did so.

With a shake of his head to clear it, Andrew sat down. He finally did his best to furtively wipe away the offending saliva. "Right. Uh... where were we?"

**eieio**

Rhona was still laughing as she walked back into the room with poor, traumatised Gina. "She did it – and that was the funniest thing I've ever seen... not least because Alicia looked angry as hell." She turned her attention from the group at large back to Gina. "We live through this; you might have to watch your back with that one."

Gina sighed wearily. "Aye, thank you for that, Rhona." She took her seat once more and reached for the bottle and spun it... it landed on Chao-Ahn and another sigh escaped her. "Do you even want to be here?"

The Potentials all mostly just stared blankly as a rush of words that made no sense to them escaped the other woman. Finally, when Chao-Ahn fell silent, they turned to Wendy, waiting for her translation.

Wendy flushed as all attention turned to her. "She basically said, 'I didn't even want to be here. I was just on the way to the kitchen area for some water to settle my stomach after the lactose-heavy dinner we all shared. Can I please now go?'. Which funnily enough, is what I was thinking too... can we go? Please?" She looked hopefully at Rhona, waiting for permission.

Robin noted that and snorted. "Go quick, both of you – save yourselves. I suspect things are only going to get worse."

The group all watched the two leave as fast as they could before they turned their attention back to the bottle in the centre of their group. "Well, if she's not playing, I get to take another go." Gina spun the bottle this time and it landed on Faith. "Oh. Okay... hmm..." After a moment's thought, she shrugged. "Do **you** want to be here?"

Faith snorted. "In an ideal world, I'd be lying in a hammock on a tropical island somewhere with Robin buying me all the cocktails I wanted." She smirked over at the man who seemed pleased enough to have been included in that thought. "It's not an ideal world though so I'm here. Besides, the Slayer in me relishes a fight even if the odds are against me – **especially** if the odds are against me... so yeah, I want to be here. For the record though, I don't think they are against us. Not with B's plan, that's for sure. We're going to be five by five." She gave that a second to sink in then spun the bottle. She peered at the Potential it landed on. Her name was... Trina...Trisha... something like that. How the hell did Buffy remember them all? "Uh... who are you most afraid of – in this group, I mean."

Teresa considered that for a second. If someone else had been asking, and the Slayer wasn't in the room, she would have said Faith's name without hesitation. "Uh... Andrew."

Faith nearly choked on the drink she'd dared to take a mouthful of – almost-cold coffee handed to her by one of the Potentials at the start of the game – "I'm sorry, what? You're afraid of **Andrew**?"

Teresa looked suitably embarrassed. "Well okay, not afraid so much as creeped out by him. He's just... really weird. I mean, he **IS!**" She spoke defensively but relaxed when quite a few of the others nodded in agreement. She reached forward and spun the bottle, watched as it landed on Joanna. "Ooh, hey Joanna... does it creep you out at all, that if you were to dye your hair blonde, you could probably pass for Buffy? Apart from the accent, obviously." Joanna had rather a high-pitched squeaking voice that, in Teresa's opinion probably made even dogs wince.

Joanna blinked. "I... what?" She shook her head in confusion, oblivious to a few around the table, wincing as her voice climbed even higher. "What are you talking about Teresa? We're nothing alike." She looked around the group, rather defensive. "**What?** We're not! Don't be so stupid!"

For a moment all that the people around the table could do was to stare at the woman, dumbfounded. It was Robin who broke the silence. "Yeah, okay Joanna... if you say so... do you think you could take your turn, hmm?"

Joanna continued to glower as she did just that. She smirked rather evilly as it landed on Kathleen – a girl that she **despised**. (Finally, something is going right for me!) "I dare you to take off your top and bra and run through the mall, screaming for-"

Faith butted in. "Yeah, that's not happening toots. No nudity allowed. Choose something else or leave..."

Joanna slumped. "Oh fine... whatever." She pondered it over for a moment. "You must get up and do a silly dance in front of whoever walks into the room next... right in their face!"

The game continued on for a little longer before someone did indeed walk in. Unfortunately it happened to be Giles. He blanched a little as the girl danced inches from his face in a very bizarre fashion. "Ye Gods!" He cast a despairing look at the group at the group behind her then beat a hasty retreat, hoping to search out some alcohol from somewhere to get him through the night.

**eieio**

The First appeared in the cell in which the American government was currently holding Ethan Rayne. Going by human standards, it wasn't too bad at all – it vaguely noted that the man had a lot of mod cons not offered to most prisoners around the world (except possibly in the U.K. The man probably felt quite at home.). It scowled at that stupid and irrelevant thought and quickly changed out of the form of the Watcher it had been borrowing – far too analytical for its tastes. It coughed to make its presence known but Ethan Rayne continued to sleep. That was annoying. 'Kennedy's' eyes narrowed. "**Hey! Wake up**!"

Ethan sighed as he opened his eyes and turned around in his bed and stared a little stupidly at the young woman before him. His glance moved briefly to the clock by his bed. "What? Don't you know it's nap time?"

Kennedy rolled her eyes. "It is time for you to get up and do something useful with your – so far – worthless little life!"

For a moment the man sitting in front of her choked on his indignation. "I beg your pardon – my life has **not** been worthless!"

Kennedy snorted. "Oh really? You've spent it doing nothing but chasing after Janus, the god of chaos... and what exactly has that worthless being ever done for you, hmm? Landed you in this tiny cell, wasting your life away, sleeping and watching worthless television such as that damned Passions that you seem to find so fascinating, that's what!" The former Potential glared at the offending DVD boxset sitting near the television.

Ethan growled. "I'm not exactly seeing anything else for me to do around here – if you hadn't noticed, I'm stuck here thanks to the Slayer and her **darling** Ripper. So if you've got nothing more to add, then go away so I can get back to sleep!"

He nearly jumped out of his skin when 'Kennedy' morphed into the shape of one of the people he had hoped never to see again in his life – Buffy Summers. He recovered quickly enough. "Neat trick that. Clearly you're **not** the Slayer... so what are you, and what do you want?"

The form of Buffy smirked. "I believe that you and I have a group of really irritating people in common and I want you to get rid of them. Make that happen, everything you want will be yours."

The man snorted. "And I've never heard that before... what are you?"

The entity looked almost smug as it spoke. "I'm the First!" The smirk turned to a scowl however, as Ethan's face remained blank. "The First Evil..?" Ethan noticed that the thing currently wearing the Slayer's body was getting annoyed and that amused him quite a lot. "Nope... never heard of you, sorry." He moved to lie back down on the bed again.

The First ground teeth together for a moment before speaking. "I am the First Evil - I am beyond **sin**, beyond **death**... **I** am the thing the darkness fears. Until now, you have never seen me, only what happens as a result of my actions. Even now, you only see what I want you to see, so you can understand. I am **everywhere** – in every being, every thought and every spiteful action, every careless and hurtful word, every drop of hate..." It stopped its monologue as Ethan let out a huge yawn. "Oh, I'm sorry – am I boring you?"

Ethan snorted. "Now you come to mention it, yeah. You really are. I get it... you're the ultimate Big Bad. Good for you. Good for me, I guess, that you need my help... What exactly is in it for me?"

The First sighed and shifted back into the form of Kennedy – it had noted that shifting to Buffy had been a mistake in relation to this human as he'd been less than willing to afford the correct amount of respect The First was owed. "If you pull it off, I will make you the new god of chaos – stronger than even Janus could dream of."

The traitorous man considered that. "If you are what you say you are, that's not a bad offer at all – first, I need out of here..."

**eieio**

By the time that Gunn arrived to meet Buffy and the rest, they had spent quite a tidy sum on shoes and clothes. Well, the women had anyway - Xander and Spike seemed to be there merely to carry whatever needed to be carried. Gunn looked at the two men and laughed. "Cordelia would have a field day with you to help her shop...would have had, even." He sagged a little at the mention of his friend. He shook it off quickly enough though and turned his attention to Buffy. "Just the three coming back with us this time?"

Buffy nodded to Gunn before checking to see where the rest of the group wandered off to – the nearby cafe to get coffee – then focused on the man once more. "It's almost time for the big showdown so everyone who's left is ready and willing. Keep an eye on these three, Gunn... especially Sheena – she's pregnant."

Gunn emitted a low whistle. "Difficult time for it. Don't worry though – we'll keep her as safe as we can." He nodded and turned to leave. "Oh... Angel said that he's sorry he couldn't make it personally – something came up, you know how it goes though. More fighting of the Big Bad... if you need him though, just give him a call."

The Slayer nodded and watched him herd the three women away. She moved to return to her own group only to be stopped by a familiar voice calling her name. Turning back slowly, she smiled as she saw Dawn's Slayer friend Mabel. "Hi Mabel – didn't realise you would be coming too. Fortunately Dawn's here though. She couldn't resist the lure of shoes. I'll go get her."

"No." Mabel reached for and took Buffy's arm to stop her walking off. "I'm not here to talk. Well, I mean, obviously talking's good too but, I'm going back with you. To fight this thing."

For a moment Buffy was speechless. "A-Are you sure? I thought you didn't like fighting that much."

The red-haired girl nodded. "I can't sit back and do nothing, Buffy. I can't just stay in L.A., training to fight evil, waiting to hear whether or not you all survived in fight against exactly that! I couldn't do that. My parents brought me up better than that. I'm just sorry it took me so long to stop acting like a twat and get my act in gear." She turned to raise her arm and wave reassuringly to Gunn who appeared to take it as a sign to wave back before driving off. Her other hand dropped from Buffy's arm. "I mean, how bad is it that I could walk away from the fight while Dawn, who's mostly just a normal person would stay to fight? Not that for a second I'm dissing Dawn! I'm not. It's just another reminder that..."

Buffy interrupted. "Okay, I get it. Look... if this is really what you want rather than you feeling obligated, then you're in but... I need you to be sure, Mabel. We're not all going to survive this fight."

Mabel shrugged and nodded. "I know that. It's fine. I can live with it... er, you know what I mean. When it comes, sometime in the next few weeks, I'll do my damnedest to win – just like everyone else."

Buffy smiled wryly. "Tomorrow."

The red-head blinked. "Sorry?"

The Slayer shrugged. "It's not within the next couple of weeks – it's tomorrow."

"Oh." Mabel just stared at the Slayer for a moment as Buffy pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Sorry, bit out of left-field, isn't it? Look, I'll call Gunn, get him to come back..."

"NO!" Once again Mabel's hand was on Buffy's arm, this time in an effort to stop her dialling. "It's fine. It's sooner than I expected but I'm as ready as I'll ever be – we've been training in L.A. too. I think the Watchers are expecting things to go badly and have us be called into the fight, whether we like it or not. Let me do this, Buffy. Please."

The older woman relented. "All right," she gestured behind them, to the cafe where the rest of the group were waiting, "let's get the rest of them and head back."

**eieio**

It was at the stage that Rhona decided to make Leticia give Robin a lap dance that both he and Faith called time on the game of Truth or Dare (for themselves at least). He shuddered and stood up, backing away from the table. "Rhona, if you wanted me to go, you should have just said."

Rhona blinked. "Go? I just want you to join in the fun."

He gave her a bewildered look. "What exactly is fun about me enduring a lapdance from a girl who is nearly young enough to be my daughter? Who in fact, I taught back in my last school? That's just wrong on so many levels!"

Faith stood up and took his hand. "C'mon, Robin... don't sweat it, man – it's just a game. Let's just go, okay? I'm sure we can find something else to do." Robin turned from Rhona then and his gaze and posture relaxed noticeably. He nodded and they walked out of the room.

Faith looked at him as they walked down the corridor. "You never mentioned that you taught her before."

Robin looked at her as he sighed heavily. "I didn't. Teach her I mean. It's just... it's creepy. When we sat down, I guess I was hoping for more truths or silly dares. Thought my presence would at least keep things in check. It's actually a little shocking that the only ones I have taught are the ones here in Sunnydale – I've been in quite a few schools before this point. You don't exactly get to be Headmaster at my **young** age without a lot of experience under your belt..."

The Slayer smiled at that. "You surely can't remember them all, Robin – and maybe they didn't want to point it out – too embarrassing. Look, don't take it to heart okay? They're just letting off steam. After all, tomorrow could be their last day on earth... Rhona's usually pretty cool."

Robin sighed. "I'm sure you're right – about the behaviour and Rhona but there are better ways to let off steam."

The young woman smirked at him. "Oh hell yeah! I can think of one or two right now. Just for you and me..."

Robin grinned at her. "Now you're talking." He let himself be led off to the space that was currently acting as their bedroom.

**eieio**

Willow looked at Tara and sighed. "Y'know, I wish we could just stay like this forever – you and me alone in bed, wrapped around each other."

Tara smiled as she nuzzled her lover, half-asleep after a rather intense love-making session. "Mmm... me too. However at some stage we're going to have to get up to eat and drink and stuff... also, there's the small matter of a certain spell to be done tomorrow."

Willow pouted. "Ugh, do you have to remind me?" She sat up and eyed the papers lying on the floor by their mattress. "We should go through it again."

Tara smirked and pulled her back down again, kissing her quite soundly. "Later."

**eieio**

When they got back to Sunnydale, Buffy insisted that Xander, Anya, Dawn and Mabel join the rest back in the mall, along with the mountain of pizzas and other nibbles they'd picked up along the way, while she and Spike went to pick up whatever it was that Buffy felt was so important. Spike looked at her curiously as they walked along. "So what is that we're going to collect, love?"

Buffy smiled enigmatically. "Oh, just a little extra gift for our friend the First: something to help it remember us a bit more."

Spike shook his head, half-amused by her cryptic reply. "Alright. If you say so, love. Must be something big if we need the van to collect it in but if you say so."

**eieio**

A/N: I know absolutely nothing about D&D unfortunately. I would LOVE to know more but it's not a game that's actually played much here in Northern Ireland (as far as my experience goes anyway). My experience stops at the children's cartoon (which I loved) and a film with the same name (not so much). So please forgive me if there are any glaring inconsistencies.

Alicia's speech in relation to the game is borrowed from my friend LadyTwist (go check out her stories!) with my grateful thanks.


	56. Goodbye to Yesterday

As the First watched the group comprised of mostly young women, it sighed. They were gearing up for something... hopefully to attack the armoury. Certainly that would seem correct if the plans spotted on Buffy's desk were to be believed. kennedy smirked at that. It did so hope that they enjoyed the present left especially for them.

The ancient entity couldn't help feeling unsettled. Something told It that this particular fight was almost over and obviously that was what It wanted – trapped too long in this nothingness, it wanted to become corporeal and exist more fully – to rule over this world and any other It fancied. Still, a part had felt strangely invigorated by the run ins with the Slayer and would... miss... them. How strange.

With that thought in mind, it left Faith and Robin to their desperate clawing – as kennedy had previously left Willow and Tara, two random Potentials and indeed Xander and Anya – and appeared before Buffy.

**eieio**

Buffy had been standing in the office, waiting for the return of Spike, who had decided to do a quick tour of the mall to ensure that everyone was present and accounted for and in one piece. She sighed as she felt the cold, malevolent presence enter the room. "Shouldn't you be off looking for a replacement for Caleb or something?" She couldn't hold back the smirk at the thought that he was gone. Nor did she miss the fact that the First's gaze flickered ever so slightly to the plans that sat on her desk. She didn't comment.

kennedy twitched a little at the Slayer's comment but didn't rise to the bait. Buffy was almost disappointed at that but didn't get to say anything further as the First spoke again:

"I envy you creatures. Isn't that the strangest thing?"

Buffy blinked, confused. "... you mean humans?" She shook her head at that, thought it over and shrugged. "Not really."

The First wanted to ask why Buffy felt that way but decided it wanted to talk more than it wanted to listen so ignored her interruption. "I may well be everywhere, in everything – in everyone... in their hearts and souls, rich or poor..." It ignored the Slayer as she groaned, tired of hearing that same old speech. "...I know why you grab at each other – to feel. I want to feel! I want to wrap my hands around some innocent neck and feel it crack."

Buffy snorted. "Wow, for a moment there, I thought you were showing some actual brains there but nope, just your typical evil deadness, talking about how you're going to kill everything." She rolled her eyes. "If you're really THE big bad as you claim, do me a favour and come up with something new to say. It's boring... What would you be without us all anyway? What would you do – or be for that matter – without someone or something to corrupt, huh?"

kennedy looked furious then. "You won't dare to speak to me in such a manner when all you care for lay dead by your feet, and I take full form!"

Buffy grinned. "By the time that happens – centuries from now by the way, I'll be dust in the wind, nothing but a long-ago legend. You're not becoming corporeal any time soon." Her gaze skittered to the maps on her desk. This time it was the First's time to notice the gesture but it didn't comment either. "You talk big, little girl... it'll make no difference. You'll be dust in the wind sooner than you think."

Buffy opened her mouth to comment but before she could say a word, the entity had departed. "Just once, can't I get the last word in?" She pouted before going in search of Spike.

**eieio**

From the moment that Rhona woke up, she knew that it had been a bad idea to bother getting any sleep at all – last night she had been running on nervous energy after sleeping very little as of late. And boy, hadn't she let everyone know it! She groaned and flopped around to lie on her stomach, pulling her pillow out from under her to cover her head. Maybe if she just curled up really small, they would all forget about her...

After a few moments though, the Potential sighed and sat up. She wasn't really the sort of person to run away from her problems. She forced herself to get up and head out for a quick wash. She would deal with the fallout after she had woken up more fully.

Typically, the first person she ran into was the very last person she wanted to – Robin. She felt herself flush with embarrassment as they made eye contact and she quickly glanced away. "Ah, I was actually going to come and see you... I'm ... uh... sorry about last night, I... was a little wired and..."

Robin held up his hands. "Don't worry about it, Rhona. I think we all were – and probably still are – a little wired. It would have been more surprising if you had been your normal self, given the circumstances."

Rhona nodded in gratitude, made her excuses and turned to leave but was stopped from doing so by the simple action of Robin saying her name. She turned back to look at him questioningly, hoping he hadn't changed his mind about giving her a hard time.

"You might want to think about apologising to the other girls. Don't worry – they'll forgive you too, I'm sure but you don't want them being so upset with you that they don't watch your back today, do you?"

Rhona nodded in agreement, relieved that that was all he had to add on the subject. "I will. Thanks." She ignored the sudden impulse to add a 'Sir' on at the end, turned and fled before he **could** think of anything else to add.

**eieio**

Alicia sat on the thin mattress that was passing for her bed, on the floor of one of the stores and stared down at the comic in her hands, still in its cellophane. True to his word, Andrew had pored over it for a couple of hours after Buffy had handed it to him but had then given it to Alicia. At the time, the mix of fear and something like attraction that she had noted shining from the blonde boy's eyes had warmed her and that had continued until after she too had studied the comic in great detail - even into her few hours of sleep.

Now though... well just what the hell was she going to do with it? She couldn't take it into battle with her, obviously and it was too late to send it out of town – they were going to war in like... she peered at the watch on her right wrist... in just over an hour. How bloody childish was she to have wanted it anyway?

She had collected comics in her **old **life not this one. In the life were dreaming of becoming a superhero was something that got her through endlessly horrible days of school where she was bullied relentlessly for the terrible sin of being different. Now she was actually going to become a superhero of sorts – would get super-strength to fight demons and vampires; to protect the innocent... and she was terrified. Why didn't the comics ever mention that bone-deep, stomach knotting fear?

Alicia rolled her eyes as the answer came to her – aside from Batman (and he didn't count in this situation), none of her chosen heroes had prior knowledge of what they were going to become. Of **course** they wouldn't have to deal with The Fear.

That Fear made her just want to crawl away from this place with her tail between her legs. No... at this moment in time, she felt that she would quite happily wait for those superpowers... then run away with her tail between her legs if it got her away from danger that bit quicker. Apparently despite her impassioned speech last night to Rhona, she wasn't really that brave after all. That thought made her face crumple in despair as she almost gave into the desperate urge to cry her heart out. Almost!

After a few moments though, the Potential in her won out. She sighed and stood, set the covered comic on the floor and tidied her bed then set the magazine carefully on top of her pillow before heading out to join the rest of the group. She would collect it if she survived. There was a battle to be fought after all and she would play her part. As Buffy said, 'Save the day or die trying', right?" She frowned as she realised that it wasn't quite right but shrugged it off. "Somethin' like that, anyway."

**eieio**

Buffy stood in the middle of the mall and just looked around. "So many shops, not enough time..." She shook her head ruefully then smirked a little as she lowered her head jokingly, for a moment of silence. All those clothes and shoes, never worn. Catastrophe!

Her faint laugh died away though, replaced by sadness – sadness for the town and all it had ever stood for. It had played such a huge part in her life and now, within a few hours, everything in it would be gone... It was a sobering thought and it caused her to lower her head seriously this time and just let herself think about all those people – both known and unknown to her – who had lived and died in the town.

Spike found her there. He frowned as he took in her serious expression, wrapped his arms around her. "You okay, love?"

Buffy sighed and wrapped her arms around him. "Just taking a minute to appreciate my life is all. Everyone that's passed through it, no matter how fleetingly."

The vampire scowled, not liking that at all. He lifted her chin up so her gaze met his. "Hey, I don't want to hear that sort of talk from you, Slayer – we're going to get through this. It's the First that's going to lose, okay?"

Buffy smiled at his sudden ferociousness. "I know. I just... felt right to take a moment is all. I'm not going down quietly, Spike. I have too much to look forward to. I want to spend the rest of my life, loving you for starters." Her smile deepened as she leaned in for a kiss. "I'm not going anywhere. Nor, I hope, are you."

Spike shook his head. "You know I never leave your side for long, love. I don't plan to do so any time soon."

She smiled at him again, the love so evident in her eyes taking his breath away – good job he didn't need it. "I love you, Spike."

"I love you too, pet. Always have, always will." He kissed her then and for a while, there was no more talk.

**eieio**

Giles woke with the hangover from hell – he had drunk more than he intended. Worse, he had drunk more than he intended of the alcohol that Andrew had chosen for him - some ridiculously pastel affair which was deceptively innocent looking with its milky hues - He hadn't been going to touch it all until Buffy and Spike joined him. Buffy had tried a shot and decided against it but Spike had downed a shot then asked for another. And if Spike could do it, so could he.

And so the three had sat there; reminiscing about the years gone by. At some stage, the rest of the gang had joined them but wisely, only he and Spike had drank the gloop. Still, it had been nice – if a little sad – to sit there like that, enjoying each other's company and talking about the past. There was no denying though, that it felt like a goodbye.

He supposed they all felt it – regardless of the outcome today, nothing in Sunnydale – or indeed the world – would ever be the same again.

A faint, pained smile came to his lips as a vague memory of Spike saying something similar came back to him from the night (morning) before. They had all toasted that, despite the fact that Dawn was really too young and, much to Buffy's alarm, Dawn hadn't been disgusted by the taste of alcohol this time. The youngest of them was definitely growing up.

The smile that still lingered on his face turned grim suddenly – he hoped fervently that she would get the chance to continue doing exactly that. He sent a prayer up towards any deity listening that if there had to be a casualty amongst them this day, that it would be him he had lived his life well, after all. Not that he was averse to living more of it but, if it was a choice...

With that thought in mind, he headed off for a cup of very strong coffee.

**eieio**

The First, once more wearing Kennedy's form, smiled at Ethan... well, smile was definitely a stretch – certainly its lips moved in the general vicinity of a smile but there was no humour in this. More like something that it had been taught to do – like in that abhorrent film Terminator 2 that he'd been made to watch as a bet, when the kid had tried to teach Arnold Schwarzenegger to smile. The First's smile was like that only worse – it was creepy and malevolent and enough to put the wind up even Ethan Rayne. He shivered a little but otherwise did a good job of hiding the fear from the entity as he listened to what It was saying.

"This is turning out to be a **really **great day... well, aside from the fact that it looks like I won't get to say goodbye to Red personally but, you can't have everything, can you?" Ethan looked clueless at that, receiving an eyeroll for his troubles. "I believe that those parasites will soon be nothing but a distant memory... I've left a little surprise for them. They think they're going to collect a stash of weapons down in the sewers but hey, what would Sunnydale be without a surprise or two, hmm?" The smile became even worse then. "Of course, that means that I will have no use for you. Shame."

Ethan realised then that whatever was planned wasn't going to go down well for the Slayer and her buddies. Perhaps this truly was their last dance...

The thought should have caused a spurt of triumph to shoot through his veins. Instead, he was left feeling slightly deflated. If Ripper and his little troupe were going down, shouldn't it be at his hands? Shouldn't he at least be there to witness it? What would the world be like without Ripper, Miss Summers and her merry band of helpers anyway?

Flat!

It was... a sobering thought. Ethan felt great relief therefore when the First chose that moment to disappear from the room. He found that right then, he wanted – and needed – a stiff drink or ten.

The stunned man sat down heavily on the chair nearby and sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair. He didn't particularly like Buffy and her friends but to be honest, he didn't particularly wish them harm either – not unless they were messing with his plans.

Ripper was another story entirely though. They had been friends for years – right until the whole mess with Eyghon when everything had turned to shit. Even on the rare occasions when he thought about how many true friends he had in the world, he still thought of Rupert in those terms.

There was nothing for it though – he wasn't the hero type. It they didn't get out of it, he would be better off playing nice with the First. If they did... well, they probably would! Wasn't that what they did, after all? "Good luck Ripper – sounds like you'll need it."

**eieio**

Robin led the way into Sunnydale High - he was the Principal after all and it only seemed fitting. "Welcome to Sunnydale High." Both Buffy and Faith grimaced at that pronouncement (Faith because she hated any type of school; Buffy because of the memories associated with Sunnydale High) while the rest of the group just looked tense. Not surprising, considering of course. He found himself out of habit, talking to try and put them at their ease. "There's no running in the halls, no yelling, no gum chewing. Apart from that, there's only one rule..." He turned around to look at the group. "...if they move and aren't one of the good guys, kill them!" Okay, maybe not so much putting them at their ease as giving them something to focus on.

It got a few smiles and he felt some of the tension leave so that was about all he could do. He looked at Buffy, waited for her to take her cue.

The Slayer frowned, wondering why Robin was looking expectantly at her. It finally dawned though. She carefully set down the chest she was carrying. "Okay Potentials - Faith and Spike will lead you to the basement. I'll be with you in a few moments."

Xander looked at the group as they lifted their weapons once more. They seemed a little bewildered though, that no one had made any profound speeches to rally them. He pondered on the right thing to say but nothing came so he settled on opening his mouth and seeing what came out.

"If you have to go the bathroom, it's to your left. If you don't have to go to the bathroom, picture what you're about to face... Better to go now." He sighed softly at what was apparently the best he could come up with. Needless to say, no one – not even the Potentials took heed. He hoped they didn't regret it later. He smiled faintly at the silliness of the thought.

Robin looked over at Willow and Tara. "My office is right over there - it's right over the seal." The two women nodded and Tara lifted the bag at their feet. "I'll go get set up." She cast her gaze over at Sue-Ellen, the Potential who would be staying with them for the course of the spell. With a nod the blonde body-builder type followed.

Dawn watched Sue-Ellen go with a sigh - why did a girl who was clearly strong enough in her own right get the added power of being a Potential when all she got was to be a useless Key? She rolled her eyes at her own idiocy and shook it off.

Robin turned his gaze to the smaller group who remained - Giles, himself, Dawn, Xander, Andrew, Anya and Buffy. "Okay. The vamps get upstairs, we have three areas they could get through to another building and then down to the sewers." He felt like a self-conscious air steward as he pointed to the different locations but pushed any embarrassment aside. "Down the hall in the atrium; the north hall here; and the primary target, through the lounge to the science building. Odds are most will head there."

Giles spoke up. "In that case, I suggest that you and I take the lounge."

Robin dipped his head slightly to acknowledge that. "I concur."

Buffy chewed on her lip, wondering what to do about Anya but the simple truth was that they had balanced it out well before. She just had to hope that the ex-demon would be okay. "Xander, I want you with Dawn."

Dawn looked over at Xander who nodded his agreement at that proposal. "We'll cover the atrium."

Anya frowned. "So that leaves me and the dungeon master in the north hall?"

Andrew looked solemnly around the group, his voice was solemn when he spoke. "We will defend it with our very lives."

Anya nodded fervently. "Yes, we will defend it with his very life." Buffy couldn't help but smile. The whole scene was playing out pretty much as she remembered it - right down to Anya's comments relating to Andrew. "Don't be afraid to use him as a human shield, Anya."

The Slayer couldn't keep the grin from her face as Xander looked put out. "I was just about to say that."

Anya was too distracted by the thought of impending doom to really pay attention to their banter. "Good. Yes. Thanks."

Andrew cleared his throat. "I just want to say how proud I am to die for this very special cause with you guys." He pulled a page out of his pocket then, unfolded it and started to read. "I'd like to thank some people - both good and evil - my brother Tucker, who gave me the inspiration to summon demons... Which led me down the path to you all, my-"

Anya sighed. "Nobody cares, you little monkey." She grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him away, stopping only briefly to cast a last glance at her husband.

Dawn shook her head slightly, amazed that Andrew was being so very... Andrew. She realised that the room was still silent so spoke up. "I'm gonna check out our field of engagement." She lifted her weapons and walked off.

Buffy knew that she wouldn't want to talk but followed her anyway. "Dawn..."

Her younger sister turned to her, her gaze resolute. "No! Anything you say is gonna sound like goodbye." Buffy sighed and watched her go before turning back to the group.

**eieio**

Buffy, Giles, Willow and Xander stood facing each other. It was Buffy who broke the silence as she picked up the chest by her feet and started walking. "So... what do you guys want to do tomorrow?" It felt like the right thing to say, even though she was effectively copying her earlier self.

Willow considered that for a moment then nodded. "Nothing strenuous, that's for sure. Maybe some light shoe shopping and a spot of lunch."

Xander considered. "I hear ya, Will – though not so much with the shoe shopping as the shopping for some new clothes. Ever since I got the eye patch, I can't help thinking that my clothes make me look like a pirate. Saying that, Mini-golf would be good too."

Buffy considered that. "You've got a point there Xander... then again, you could totally own the pirate look – we could get you a wooden leg and a parrot for your shoulder."

Willow butted in. "Buffy – Xander's not a wooden leg sort of guy. The parrot could work though."

Giles sighed. "Shouldn't we discuss this properly? I mean are we really going to save the world – again – then go to the **mall**?" The older man sounded as disgusted as he felt by the idea but no one paid much heed to the tone. "I have a wicked shoe craving, Giles." He looked at his Slayer, exasperation in his gaze. "Buffy, I would think that you would be above-" He never got to finish the sentence as the conversation continued around him.

Xander frowned. "Aren't you on the patch." Both Willow and Buffy laughed at that. "Those never work Xander." The conversation continued as they walked on. Giles stopped and shook his head. "Here I am, completely invisible." He let out a weary sigh as he heard Willow suddenly get all excited. "Ooh, if you don't wanna be a pirate, you could totally pull off the secret spy look!"

"The earth is definitely doomed." The watcher headed off to the lounge where Robin waited.

**eieio**

As Buffy walked into the basement, she cast her eye around the group. Three of the Potentials stood out to her – Mabel and the two standing beside her. They looked the least confident of the group though still holding their own. Whether they'd ended up beside each other by accident or design, she didn't know. It didn't matter either. She made a snap decision. "Mabel, I want you, Dana and Helen up top with the three smaller groups. No arguments! No guilt either – there'll be more than enough bad guys to go around, believe me. I'd prefer it if you could be with Dawn. You know where she is, right?" At her nod, the Slayer turned around and focused on the rest of the group, effectively dismissing the trio.

Faith frowned at the idea of allowing three soon-to-be Slayers go but didn't say anything. She just handed Buffy the dagger. "You first, B." The older Slayer nodded and took the dagger, sliced her palm and watched the blood drip down onto the Seal for a moment then passed the dagger onto the next girl.

All too soon, they were heading down into the depths.

**eieio**

Sitting in the Principal's office, in their protected circle, Willow looked over at her lover. "They should be in place now. Are you ready?" When Tara nodded, she cast her glance over to Sue-Ellen who also nodded." Taking a deep breath, Willow started...

**eieio**

Buffy stood down there, in the hellmouth and peered down, down into the depths. Yup, the sight of so many uber-vamps in one place was still as intimidating as she remembered. She felt herself pale a little. Her gaze skittered to the chest nearby then to Spike. "You okay?"

Spike shrugged and tapped at the gaudy pendant around his neck. "Not to be a buzzkill or anything, love but, I don't feel a thing... No juice here – and I look like Elizabeth Taylor. Not that I want you to worry or anything."

Buffy gulped and swallowed as doubt and guilt washed in on her – what if the spell didn't work this time? What if Willow and Tara combined weren't as strong as Dark Willow had once been? What if she'd screwed up? That'd be a lot of deaths on her conscience. "I'm... I'm not worried."

Faith heard that and snorted. "Cheer up Liz – if Willow and Tara's big spell doesn't work, it won't matter what you look like." She looked over at Buffy. "Glad **you're** not – I'm flashing back to Xander's speech from when we walked in here." God, what if she **died**? What if Robin died? She shivered at the thought, pushed it far to the back of her mind because it **mattered**. It hadn't ever before but it certainly did now. She couldn't afford to think of it.

Buffy took another deep breath. Okay, the noise of the vamps was almost deafening and it was wicked hot down there but, it was going to be fine. They had the upper hand here after all. "I'm not worried. Willow and Tara's spell-." She never got to finish because almost as one entity, the ubervamps sensed them and looked up and in that moment, Buffy remembered what it was like to feel true and absolute fear – the sort of fear that a normal human being must feel when faced with a group of vampires that they never knew existed. She just wanted to run away, far, far away from here... she pushed it down though and looked over at Faith. "Give me a hand with this, would you? Think it's time the First had its gift back." She reached down for a handle of the chest.

Faith nodded and took the handle of the other side. "Where to?" Buffy gestured to the space that included the biggest swarm of the ubervamps and the threw it, watching it sail across the expanse. For a moment as it landed, nothing. The ensuing bang however, silenced everything for a moment as vampire bodies were blown to pieces...

Noise rushed in again in a deafening roar and they winced. Rhona spoke up. "Shoulda brought more of those."

Faith shrugged. "That's all she wrote."

**eieio**

As they walked to the North Hall, both Anya and Andrew nearly jumped out of their skin when Halfrek appeared. Anya though, was the first to recover her power of speech. "Halfrek... what are you doing here?"

The demon looked put out by that. "Charming - here I am coming to see my oldest friend for maybe the last time and she's rude to me."

Anya sighed. "Sorry. We were expecting vampires... is everything okay?"

The demon's expression changed from annoyed to angry in the blank of an eye. "Okay? Is everything **okay**? No! No, it is not okay Anyanka – have you not heard what they've been saying about this fight? You can't win it! There's no possible way! That means you're going to die... I don't want you to die, Anyanka. You're my oldest – my only friend! Come with me now, it's not too late." The demon held out her hand hopefully. Obviously she couldn't teleport Anya out but she could hopefully make her sense and they would walk out of here together.

For a moment Anya considered it – it was so very tempting but a glance over at the silly Andrew reminded her just what she was fighting for. Well, not Andrew specifically but humans. Or rather Xander and their friends. For the human world. "I wish..." She stopped herself just in time. "I can't, Hallie. You know I can't."

Halfrek scowled. "I know no such thing!"

Anya smiled sadly. "I can't leave them – especially not Xander." She watched the demon's expression change to a mix of regret, sadness and acceptance. "Then it shall be your funeral... I shall raise a glass for you." She leaned in and hugged the woman. "Now I must go."

Anya swallowed hard as her friend made a less-than-usual flashy exit. Andrew felt the need to break the silence. He really didn't like silences at all. "We'll be okay, Anya."

The ex-demon's gaze flew to meet his. "No we won't, Andrew. We're all going to die here!"

Andrew paled visibly at that but straightened up resolutely. "No. We're not – we have far too much still to live for. If we die, who'll save the world from the next problem huh? What about all the... the places that you've never visited?"

For a moment, Anya forget her fear enough to give him a withering look. "Andrew, I've lived thousands of years as a demon. Do you really imagine that there's anywhere in this stupid world that I haven't seen? Anyway, it's not the places that matter – it's the people. And every human and the one vampire I care about are all going to die right here with me."

The blonde half-expected Anya to point out that that didn't include him but, she didn't and it gave him a warm glow, whether she included him or not – he **knew** it did. "Well then, what about the cute stuff like Koala bears and... cupcakes and... bunnies and.."

The woman straightened up then, no longer looking afraid. In fact, she looked ready for anything. "Bunnies... stupid, hoppy, fluffy bunnies..." Oh, those vampires were toast!

**eieio**

Sue-Ellen was standing over the two witches looking a little antsy – she didn't want to be there, she really didn't. There was a fight going on downstairs whilst she was stuck here, playing nursemaid to two witches. It wasn't right. It didn't matter to her that she was only a Potential – she believed she had what it took to take out those bastards down there. She was a little bored too... standing around watching two women recite a spell as they held onto a scythe was **not** exciting. At least, it wasn't until the two women suddenly gasped and white energy seemed to pass through them. Until that moment, she'd been more than a little sceptical about magic but, she couldn't really deny the evidence that was staring her right in the face, could she? Or for that matter, the fact that energy was pouring into her... she felt strong. Stronger than she had felt before – much stronger.

A moment later, still slightly dazed, she was running down to the battle with the Scythe passed to her by Willow. She had grabbed it and was out the door as the two women flopped against each other, worn out. "These guys are toast!" It was said with absolute conviction. She felt as though she could take them out on her own... and she had plenty of backup. She almost felt sorry for the bad guys. That caused her to laugh and run a bit faster, keen not to miss the action.

**eieio**

Buffy cast a look around her and felt relief flood in as she noticed the change in the Potentials around her – Potentials no more... these were fully fledged Slayers... just in time too because the first of the vamps was upon them. Even better, from out of nowhere, Sue-Ellen had appeared and handed over the Scythe. As she started slaying, she wondered idly if it had been as hard for the younger woman to hand over as it had been for her.

**eieio**

Inevitably some Turok-han did of course slip by the Slayers. The fact that two humans and a Slayer waited for them whichever way they went didn't faze them too much – what were these pathetic creatures compared to them? It was a surprise therefore to a lot of them as they were mowed down, staked and beheaded.

Robin looked over at Giles and Dana during a break in the festivities and was glad to see that they were holding their own. Unfortunately, as he went to say something, he felt a stabbing pain in his gut. Looking down, he saw something sticking out of him, something bloody. He turned his head to look over his shoulder, his eyes quickly turning glassy and realised he'd been staked by a vamp... the irony didn't go unnoticed. He snorted, almost amused as he crumpled to the ground.

Dana and Giles rushed forward to save him and pull him out of harm's way, stopping only briefly to dust the monster.

**eieio**

Andrew whimpered as a Turok-han rushed him. He shuffled back as far as he could, trying to get away. Screwing up his eyes, he shouted out the first thing that came to mind: **"I have swimmer's ear."** (_Good going genius. That's what you come up with to save your life? You deserve to die!)_

Running on a potent mix of anger and adrenaline, Anya turned at Andrew's shout, growled and beheaded the attacking vamp with ease. She didn't see the other vampire behind her, sword raised and ready to strike. Fortunately for her though, Helen did. The new Slayer called out a warning as she threw an axe at the creature, watching with satisfaction as it fell to the ground. Not dust yet of course. She took the time to glare at Anya as she retrieved the axe from the vamp's back then beheaded it. "You are insane, you know that? What's the second thing we learned in training, Anya? NEVER turn your back on a vampire! Yet that's the first thing you do..."

Anya contemplated screaming at her until she shut up or went away. She just wanted to run away right then. Nothing major – just grab Xander and run away to somewhere safe. It was after all, what she had always done when faced with an apocalypse – at least until she had fallen in love with a stupid human. Every nerve ending screamed at her to run now before it was too late. She closed her eyes for a moment and caught her breath then looked at Helen. "I know. You're right. I'll not do it again." She was staying – not even for Xander and their friends and the Slayers that she knew only vaguely but, for herself! Because if she couldn't do the right thing, at the right time, then what was the point of being alive anyway?

She took out the next uber-vamp that came into sight. This time, she didn't even need to think of bunnies. She was just angry that these stupid creatures could threaten her world and the people in it.

**eieio**

Something was wrong. The moment that Spike had dusted the vamp he was fighting, he dropped the sword in his hand and moved to Buffy's side, ducking out of the way of sharp weapons and claws as he did so. "Buffy, whatever this thing does, I think it's start.." He stopped talking as a wave of pain washed over him.

Buffy had been directing her army as she had done before – everything was just the same. Different orders this time but otherwise still the same. She had been distracted by Spike though, at his cry of pain... had it been that intense before? She turned to look at him worriedly when she felt pain of her own, deep in her abdomen. She closed her eyes in shock for a moment then slowly opened them and looked down. It had happened again. She cried out as the uber-vamp behind her roughly pulled the sword out, causing more pain and more damage. She could do nothing but crumple to the ground, the world around her fading to black – even her lover's screams.

**eieio**

The strangest thing about working in a team, was the fact that Faith couldn't help but keep an eye on the people fighting around her. Not in a 'best to know where the other people are so I know what's coming' way but in a 'best to keep an eye on everyone to ensure they're staying out of trouble' way. It was a little disconcerting - it wasn't even something that she'd had to force herself to do. She just felt a part of this group and she even **cared** for a lot of them and wanted to do what was in her power to keep them safe - sometimes, looking at Buffy, it was hard to believe that she was the older and stronger of the two as she was that much shorter and more delicate looking and she had a ridiculous urge to wrap her up in bubble wrap. Stupid, but there ya go.

It was during one of these moments of checking out the lay of the land that she saw Buffy fall and she felt her blood run cold. Buffy **couldn't** be dead! As soon as she could, she dispatched the vamps around her and rushed over. "Buffy! Get up!" The Dark-haired woman wanted to reach down and pull her up but that would leave her too vulnerable and that would definitely do the other woman no good. She felt relief flood through her therefore when Buffy weakly lifted her head but her words made Faith want to scream in anger.

Buffy looked weakly at Faith. There was something she had to do... what was it? Who was that standing in front of her, all the way up there? She pondered on it for a moment before a name came to her. Faith. Something about that name seemed funny to her but she couldn't remember. She let out a snort and closed her eyes for a moment to try and think...

...the Scythe, the fight... With a weary sigh, Buffy reached for the weapon at her side. It seemed to take forever to get to it. Digging deep, she found the strength to lift it up towards the brunette. "Hold the line..." she wanted to say more but it was just too much effort. She would have sighed with relief as the weight of the Scythe was taken from her but that was too much effort also. Her head lowered once more and she allowed sweet oblivion to take her.

**eieio**

Mabel was fairly certain that she had gotten the easiest job out of all the Slayers. Dawn and Xander were holding up just fine on their own. Before the spell, she would have felt that it was a good thing but now... now she wanted to be in the middle of it. It was a strange adjustment to have to make. For a moment as a vampire grabbed Xander, she had thought that she was going to get her wish but Dawn had quickly dispatched it by pulling covering off the skylight overhead, toasting the vamp in question.

Xander stood on shaky legs, aware that he'd missed being eaten by only a fraction of an inch. "We call that the greenhouse effect – very..." He was cut off by another Turok-han grabbing him. "Oh come **on**!"

This time at last, Mabel was able to act. She smiled at Xander's comment as she dusted the vamp. "Strong women – gotta love 'em." She supposed it wasn't particularly funny but it lightened the mood.

**eieio**

Faith growled as she was attacked by a group of the Ubervamps. They were clinging to her, making it impossible to get rid of them or to raise the Scythe to do the necessary damage to free herself. For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to hold onto the weapon regardless because it felt so much a part of her but, she forced herself to pass it on. She called out to Amanda and threw it weakly to her just before she was wrestled to the ground.

Buffy was dimly aware of what was going on and she was as angry as she could be in her dimmed-out state. It was all happening just as it had before. What if this time though, Faith didn't rally? What if the stupid necklace didn't work? With an immense force of will, she forced herself to swim up from the edge of unconsciousness. It wasn't easy – with every second the pain got worse but she had to do it!

**eieio**

The First had happily been standing, talking Ethan Rayne's ear off about its plans for the future as he sat in a motel room out of town when it sensed that something had gone wrong... With a scowl, It disappeared and Ethan Rayne breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God for that – feel like I'm stuck in a room with Wile. E. Coyote, telling me all his plans for Roadrunner."

**eieio**

The First stared at the chaos around it, annoyed to have been taken by such surprise – the Slayer hadn't gone anywhere near the 'artillery' it had gotten the Bringers to set up... no, that was a lie – it could see damage that could only have been done by the bomb. The fact remained though, that the damned Slayer and her pathetic group shouldn't be anywhere near its Turok-han. Kennedy's pretty face continued to scowl until it saw the downed form of one Buffy Anne Summers, mortal wound and all.

Buffy had been almost back to consciousness when she heard her own tones, mocking her. She sighed as she looked up weakly to see The First. "Heh, look at you, Slayer... you tried really hard huh? But this mortal wound of yours... kinda itchy." It pouted a little then looked around and smirked in a way that made the real Buffy shiver as it noticed just how many Slayers had already fallen. "Hey, don't worry so much – you and your merry band of helpers came pretty close to smacking me down... what more do you want?"

Buffy forced herself to her feet, ignoring the pain and the bone-deep tiredness. "I want you... to get out of my face!" She grabbed the Scythe as one of the Slayers threw it to her and used it to take out the group of uber-vamps heading her way before a blood-curdling scream from Spike caught her attention. A look in his direction told her that the amulet was starting. With a gasp, she threw the Scythe to the nearest Slayer and ran to him, ignoring the pain. She paused only to shove an advancing vamp over the side of the cliff.

Spike's eyes were closed in pain when Buffy got to him. She looked at her lover and took his hand. "Spike... I'm here."

Spike opened his eyes. "Something's happening, love. I can feel it – my soul... kinda stings."

She winced as she realised that despite her best intentions, **everything** was happening just as it was before. It seemed that some things just HAD to happen... she hoped to God that one of those things wasn't Anya dying then focused back on her boyfriend. The young woman gasped as a bright blue light suddenly shot up from the amulet, knocking a hole in the ceiling which she knew from Willow telling her previously, would shoot all the way up to the open sky. The Slayer watched, clinging tightly to Spike's hand as the light turned orange and for a moment, she wondered if this would have worked if they had gone in at night when the sun wasn't obviously in the sky but she quickly banished the stupid thought to focus on the present. A quick glance around told her that the rays from the amulet were dusting every single vamp it touched. That, she supposed was comforting. It was just heartbreaking knowing that it came at the expense of Spike – however temporarily.

The ground started to shake around them but Buffy tuned it out. If this couldn't be stopped, she would lose Spike again – even if it was only for months, the thought was too painful. She needed to memorise his features; make sure that he knew that she loved him so very much. She only dimly heard Faith shouting for everyone to leave, hardly noticed as the girls started rushing past her as fast as their injuries allowed.

**eieio**

As the group moved, they made sure to collect the civilians who had been fighting uptop. Giles had been in the process of helping Robin out to the bus but Rhona and Amanda impatiently took the injured man from him as they could move faster. Rhona looked at him and scowled. "Hey, don't go dying, Robin – we're not helping you outta here just so that you can die in comfort!"

Robin smiled faintly at that. "Is Faith okay?"

Rhona snorted. "She's better than you, for sure. Just behind us. So don't even **think** of dying or there'll be hell to pay from her, right?"

**eieio**

Bar Buffy, Faith had been the last to leave the room. She had rushed around crazily, searching for signs of life in the fallen but sadly there was no more to be found. She stopped as she reached Buffy and her boyfriend. "B, Spike, come on – we need to get out of here! Whole place is going to fall down around us."

Buffy nodded. "You go, I'll catch up – get everyone on the bus." For a moment Faith hesitated, unsure and unwilling to leave her friends there. "GO, Faith – make sure they're all safe." Buffy handed over the Scythe that one of the other Slayers had given to her as they made their escape. Faith stared at it for a second but the urgency in the older Slayer's voice convinced her to do as she was told and with a reluctant nod, Faith finally left them.

Spike finally looked at Buffy. "You should go, love. This isn't going to last much longer."

Tears welled in the Slayer's eyes. "Not without you."

The smile that she loved so much appeared then on the vampire's lips. "Can't! Have to stay and finish this – see how it ends."

Buffy shook her head furiously. "It ends with your death – just stop it now, Spike! Take the damn thing off! You've done enough!"

Spike sighed and looked at his hands which were turning translucent. "Too late."

"**It's** **NOT too late**!" Buffy growled and released his hand, reached up and yanked the stupid, much-hated amulet off him...

... it didn't stop anything. Spike kept on burning up right before her eyes. Finally her boyfriend looked at her again, his eyes kind and so full of love. "It's time to go, Buffy. I love you – you know that, don't you?"

The young woman nodded, tears spilling over her cheeks. "I love you so much, Spike."

The vampire smiled. "I know. Thank you for that gift. It means more to me than you'll ever know... now go!"

Though it killed her to do it, Buffy finally did that. She took one last look at her lover then turned and ran, doing her best to stay on her feet despite the massive earthquake going on around her. This time around, she headed straight for the roof, pocketing the amulet safely.

**eieio**

Dawn sat at the back of the bus and stared out. Every single person leaving the building had made her heart pound fast because it had to be her, didn't it? Yet it wasn't... it wasn't her stupid sister. Where the hell was she? If she was dead, Dawn was definitely going to kill her! She bit down hard on her lip and clung tightly to Mabel's hand for support. She was getting more scared as the people flowing out of the building slowed. When Faith entered the bus, told them to drive, Dawn was fairly certain that if she'd been standing, her legs would have given out... Faith wouldn't have given that command if it wasn't too late for both Buffy and Spike, would she?

Was she... all alone?

**eieio**

As Buffy made it out onto the roof and started running, hopping over rooftops with abandon, she was glad to see the bus moving away. They were going to be all right. Everything was going to be fine, she knew it.

It only took a few more minutes to catch them, dropping down onto the bus and for that she was grateful – she could feel the adrenaline that had fuelled her this far seeping out of her. She couldn't hold back a pained groan as she jumped down onto the bus and in fact, barely managed to hold on as it rushed on. She was absolutely sure she was going to fall off this time around as the bus came to a rather ungraceful stop but she clung on like grim death, grimacing at that macabre thought.

**eieio**

Dawn gasped and sat up, looking at the roof as though if she willed it enough, she could see through it to the person there. Truthfully, her heart told her that she didn't need to worry – there was only one person it could be. The fact that it couldn't be Spike though, that caused her heart to hurt. Not just for his loss but for her sister. How would Buffy cope without him?

She cast a worried glance at Mabel even as she relaxed enough to let go of her friend's hand, then stood and started moving to the exit, keen to make absolutely sure that it **was** her sister.

When she got outside, she spotted her sister hugging Anya and Xander in turn, seemingly happiest in that moment to see the ex-demon. She made a mental note to ask her sister about that later but for the moment, all that mattered was that despite her injury and obvious exhaustion and loss of Spike, her sister was alive and breathing. She rushed over and gave her sister a careful hug. "See? Told you – still alive." She wouldn't go so far as to say they were fine given the loss of so Spike and so many of the girls but at least there were survivors.

Buffy smiled and nodded and walked with her sister to the end of the road and the huge sinkhole which was all that remained of Sunnydale. A laugh escaped her as the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' fell down. Spike would just love that.

She turned to smile at Giles and the rest of the main group minus Faith and the injured Robin as they joined them there. "What did this?"

Buffy's grin intensified. "Spike." Proper explanations could wait for later.

**eieio**

After checking to ensure that Robin wasn't going to die and entrusting him to the care of Violet, Faith wandered over to the rest of the group. "Huh. That's one helluva mess!" She smiled as a thought occurred to her. "I'm guessing that means that the hellmouth is closed for business."

Giles shrugged. "There's another one in Cleveland, Faith. Really, we should all probably head there – no doubt the First has reinforcements there..." He shut up as everyone around him turned as one to give him the evil eye. "Maybe now isn't the best time to mention that."

Xander grinned. "Hey, we saved the world! Again... There has to be a prize this time, right? I'm not asking much – maybe the cast of Star Trek could thank me personally or something."

That caught Andrew's attention. "Which one?"

Xander considered it for a moment then shrugged. "All of them?"

Buffy looked at them and laughed and looked at Willow and Tara. "Great job on the spell, guys. Very timely."

Both women acknowledged her though it was Willow who spoke. "I can feel Slayers awakening everywhere. I had no idea that there were so many... we'll have to find them."

Giles nodded at that. "Indeed. Because of course, the mall was in Sunnydale so you can't go there. May as well do something with your free time."

Dawn gasped. "We destroyed the mall? I'm beginning to think that I fought on the wrong side."

Xander looked solemn. "We should have a moment's silence for those lost shops. The Gap, Starbucks, Toys 'r' us... who will remember all those landmarks unless we tell the world about them?"

Giles looked especially grim then. "We most definitely have our work cut out for us."

Faith eyed them both. "Quiet or we'll push you both in... all those in favour please raise your hands." She smirked at the two as all the females raised their hands. There was laughter from everyone for a moment before Faith spoke again. "I just wanna sleep guys... for like, a week... well, after we've gotten Robin and B here, to the hospital – along with all the rest of the wounded." She looked over at Buffy as a thought occurred to her. "Hey, we're not special any more – we're just regular now there are so many Slayers out there... what are you going to do now?"

Buffy looked down at what remained of Sunnydale then at all of her friends in turn. "I hear that L.A. is good this time of year..."

Of course first there would have to be some sort of memorial service for the fallen Slayers. It didn't seem nearly enough for the sacrifice they had made but at least she could rest in the knowledge that more of them had survived this time around. There was a comfort in that. She sighed and checked her pocket, making sure the amulet was still safe inside then gestured back to the bus. "We should get moving."

**eieio**

A/N: I LOVE Terminator 2 btw. One of my all time favourites but somehow, I can't imagine Ethan enjoying it and truly, the moment that John got the Terminator to smile... it was more than a little creepy, wasn't it?

A/N2: Remember the episode where Buffy is chucked out of the house and Faith ends up leading them into a trap with a nice bomb in it? Well, that's what was in the case that Buffy was carrying (with a little of Willow and Tara's magic in there to give it an extra kick).

A/N3: Holy cow! The last chapter (minus Epilogue obviously). Wasn't actually sure that I'd get here. Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, pointed out my dumb mistakes, favourited, watched... glad you liked it enough to bother. Hopefully I didn't disappoint.

A/N4: Epilogue to follow soon hopefully.


	57. Epilogue 1

It had been just a normal night really – nothing special at all. There had been no ghostly warnings, no bad feeling in her gut come patrol time. Heck, the weather had been almost unseasonably warm and balmy for mid-winter. Then again, maybe Dawn should have realised that something bad was going to happen **because** the weather was so nice. This was Ireland after all – a place that was ridiculously lovely and green because of all the rainfall it experienced.

There wasn't really much point thinking of it now anyway – not much point considering it as you lay dying from a wound in your guts where some demon had taken the phrase 'rip you a new one' entirely too literally...

**One Hour Previous**

Dawn heard the knock on her hotel room door and went to answer it. She did of course take the time to check through the peep hole, smiled as she was greeted by the sight of Xander all ready to go. "Right on time." She opened the door and invited Xander and three Slayers inside. "Gimme just a sec." This was how they worked now – teams of five sent out to scout new areas and decide just how much Slayer presence it required. So far, their small part of Ireland didn't seem like it needed much. So far.

The young woman quickly pulled on her jacket – a gorgeous tan leather affair that was all soft and yet warm and a present from her sister that she probably shouldn't even think about wearing on Patrol but, it was cold here – and grabbed her bag of weapons. "Okay, lets go."

She followed the others out, smiled a little as Xander fell into step beside her. "Hey Xand... so how's Anya doing? Junior settled down any?"

Xander looked over at her and nodded. "Seems to have – she at least managed to get some sleep last night. To be honest, I think that Anya's happy about the baby not just for its own sake but because it means that she doesn't have to come patrolling any more." They both smiled at that. "Of course, that just means that she gets stuck researching."

Dawn pouted. "Hey, nothing wrong with researching, Xander." Xander quickly held his hands up. "Yeah, yeah... I know. Heard that from my lovely wife too. I know it's every bit as worthwhile it's just so... schooly."

Lisa turned to look back at them. "Hey, do you think that you two could shut up and focus – we're supposed to be alert and ready for everything, not catching up on the gossip."

Dawn and Xander both sighed heavily. "We're still in the hotel, Lisa. Also, both Dawn and I have been doing this for a lot longer than you so we kinda know what we can and can't do." That at least shut the Slayer up but the two ex-Sunnydale residents didn't bother to pick up the conversation after Dawn's muttered. "I really miss Buffy... and Faith."

**eieio**

Just two days ago, Dawn had been in the south of France with Tara and Willow, having just finished an intensive magic course with them. It had been fun and so very different from right here in this small town in Northern Ireland. Strange to think that, not that long ago, she had imagined herself somehow being stuck in Sunnydale her whole life, fighting demons and vampires alongside her sister. Since leaving though, she'd been to more places than she could count – Egypt, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, Norway, Belgium, Wales... Brazil had been her favourite. Hopefully she could go back there and actually spend some serious time doing the whole touristy thing.

For now though, here she was in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland – a very small town (in comparison with what existed in America, anyway) that's biggest selling points were that it was the burial place of Saint Patrick and the home of two music groups: Ash and Relish. Dawn had no clue who they were or what their music sounded like.

Ten thousand inhabitants – give or take. Not that many in comparison with American but according to Giles, it could well be a rich breeding ground for vampires – given how very rare true sunshine seemed to be here. On the plus side, it hadn't taken too long to find friendly locals who were willing to fill them in on the important details: Cemetery locations, makeout spots and a couple of places were the locals just **didn't** go to because of **something**.

Compared to Sunnydale and Cleveland, there were less cemeteries but more high schools. She remembered that Xander had made a joke about how that made it more of his idea of hell than the two towns sitting on hellmouths.

It was on the first sweep of the area that any sane person avoided that they stumbled upon trouble – or rather Lisa did. She tripped on a root or something buried in the ground. As if that wasn't enough noise, she started cursing loudly, drawing attention from the people in the cars around them – because of course, the fact that sensible adults feared it only meant that teenagers wanting to make out saw it as a perfect spot.

Dawn just had time to think that it was odd that teenagers could be so easily distracted from fooling about that they were getting out of their cars, before the young woman realised that the people getting out weren't actually people but bloodied vampires who had either popped by for a little snack or...

Xander paled as he looked around realising they were effectively surrounded by at least thirty vampires. "Ambush!" unknowingly he finished Dawn's thought.

Lisa cursed a little more. Why not – the damage was already done after all. "Six to one huh? Not very fair on them, is it?" She smirked. "Leave the twenty five in front to me!"

Xander sighed. "I **really **miss Buffy and Faith... Less talking big, more slaying okay?"

He only paid half a mind as Lisa started doing just that, quipping while she did so. He had long been used to Buffy doing it and it tended to wash over him in a soothing manner but there was something not quite right about the way that Lisa delivered her lines – as though she had rehearsed them the night before or something. It reminded him of the Buffybot when it had gotten stuck with that one line and perhaps that why it creeped him out. He smiled as he heard Dawn pipe up, still on the same wavelength: "Lisa, you do realise that puns aren't necessary, right?"

The ex-carpenter dusted the vamp near him in time to notice the annoyed look on the Slayer's face. Unfortunately he was not fast enough to call out a warning to Dawn as a vampire came up behind her and shoved its **arm** through the young woman's guts. He watched in stunned horror as the bloodied arm retracted and Dawn crumpled to the ground, a shocked look on her face.

Time slowed down for Xander. That could be the only explanation as to how he covered a distance of around one hundred yards in mere seconds and have that damned vampire still standing there, gloating over his victory, to be easily beheaded by her enraged friend.

The dark-haired man dropped to the ground beside Dawn, pulling off the checked shirt he was wearing over a vest. He quickly balled it up and pressed it over Dawn's wound, trying to stem the flow of blood. It was a vain effort of course – had it been a wound at the front or back, there might have been a chance but both..?

Dawn opened her dazed-looking eyes slowly and looked up at him. A weak smile came to her face. "Xander..." She tried to raise her hand up to rest on his cheek but it was an awful lot of effort so she didn't bother.

The man shook his head. "Don't talk – save your strength, Dawn. Okay? Cara's calling for an ambulance as we speak..." He turned to look at the woman in question. "**999** Cara, not 911!" Cara nodded and quickly typed that number into her cell as Xander turned his attention back to his friend. "You're going to be fine, Dawn."

One faint word from the woman in his arms stopped him saying anything else. "No." Dawn took a weak breath and this time she forced herself to lift a hand painfully slowly to his cheek. "I love you, Xander. Always."

Xander stared at her, confused. It sunk in though. Kinda... and for a moment, the fact that Dawn loved him made him feel quite proud. Not just because she was some ancient Key but because she was Dawn. _(What a stupid time to be thinking about Dawn being the Key! You fucking moron!)_ "**NO! **Don't you **dare** say goodbye!" It was too late though. With the faintest of breaths, Dawn's grip on the world faltered, her hand slipped from his face and his friend was gone.

**eieio**

He sat there in stunned silence for a few moments before a deep sob escaped him and he hugged the dead woman closer to him. He had no idea how long he sat there, holding and rocking Dawn's body as tears fell but, it was long enough for Lisa, Joan and Cara to finish the vamps off and return to him.

At the sound of approaching sirens, Lisa sighed and rested a hand on the man's shoulder. "We have to go, Xander – grab her and we'll clear out." Xander turned his head sharply to glare at her. "You do not get to order anyone about here, Lisa – not now, not ever! This is **your** fault!"

The blonde-haired Slayer gasped. "My... Xander, that's not **fair**. You said it was an ambush, remember? Clearly we've made quite an impression in this town since getting here a fortnight ago."

Xander carefully lowered Dawn's body to the ground and stood to face Lisa. "It **was** an ambush. We could have probably handled that okay though – if you hadn't first decided to scream at about a thousand decibels because you were clumsy enough to **trip** **over something. **Your dumbass reaction gave them the jump on us ergo... it's your fault. Dawn's death is on **you**!"

Lisa growled as she straightened, her hands balling into fists. Her voice when she spoke sounded tight and cold. "This is **not** my fault, Xander! **She** was the one to turn her back on a vampire..."

Joan tried to butt in. "Guys..."

Xander ignored the intended interruption. "Don't you **dare**..."

"**XANDER!"** Cara this time. "You should really look at this..." Her gaze didn't move from where Dawn's body lay.

Xander growled at Lisa but turned to look at the other Slayer, his anger drained though as he broke eye contact with Lisa. "I've seen a dead body before, Cara – even a dead body of a friend. It's not new. Unfortunately. It's..."

He forgot how to talk as he finally turned his gaze to Dawn only to see green light surrounding her body – more specifically, it was over her mid-section. It seemed to be coming from her and surrounding her. "The... Key. Tara was right – it **is** beautiful." He swallowed hard. Not something he ever wanted to see though – not at this cost. He felt his knees weaken and wound have fallen but for the fact that Joan was suddenly at his side, holding him up.

He wanted to look away – really didn't want to see the moment that the energy left his friend because that would be far too final, wouldn't it? It would mean that Dawn was really and truly dead. Except he couldn't look away...

...the energy wasn't leaving Dawn's body... why wasn't it leaving? Was it his imagination or... was it... doing something? Wasn't the wound bigger just a moment ago? He couldn't even blink in that moment, never mind tear his gaze away to look at the others for verification of what he was seeing but was aware of Joan's gasp and her words: "It's... healing her. What the** hell **is the Key? **How** is it doing that?"

They had been watching for maybe thirty seconds when Dawn started to breathe once more. No one spoke – they didn't seem able. They just stood there, watching silently.

**eieio**

Dawn didn't open her eyes straight away – she needed a moment to get her thoughts in order... oh yeah – she was dead. Buffy was going to be so pissed. Then again, it would make a change for her to be the one to die rather than her older sister... _(I wonder if Willow and Tara will find a way to bring me back – certainly not with the Urn of Osiris 'cause the demon bikers destroyed the last one! Then again, maybe they couldn't have used it... probably a one-time deal or something. Ooh, they could probably magic up some sort of replacement... I wonder if Buffy will even allow them to do that. Probably not actually – given how depressed __**she**__ was. Ugh, being that depressed would be depressing.)_

"Dawn..?" Xander spoke tentatively, bewildered by the sight of his no-longer-dead friend lying on the grass, looking like she had just decided to take a nap right there.

Dawn was too busy thinking to really register Xander in that moment. A smile spread slowly across her face as she realised that she was going to see her Mom again but vanished in the next instant as she realised that she had heard **Xander.** If he was dead, Anya was going to be so pissed off. Oh God – her baby would grow up without knowing her father! That horrible thought caused her to bolt upright, her eyes springing open – she **had** to get him back to the real world!

**eieio**

Dawn stared around in her confusion – funny how Heaven looked more like Downpatrick, Northern Ireland... After a moment's thought, she realised that she couldn't be dead – Downpatrick was nice and all but, it wasn't her idea of a place to spend Eternity. She knew for a fact that it wasn't Joyce's either – they had been told more times than enough that that would be Miami with her daughters and her not in mortal danger; her being served drinks by David Cassidy... whoever he was.

Strange though – her guts had been ripped out of her body. That should have hurt, right? So why wasn't she in pain? She slowly looked down in confusion and noted the fact that green energy was swirling around her midriff. For a moment, she thought that somehow Tara and Willow had saved her from half a world away but the green energy... "I... the Key saved me!" That was interesting. She watched the energy swirl for a little longer before it disappeared back into her. The only sign that she had been hurt was the blood on her exposed skin and the damage to her clothes. "Not my jacket..." She mourned for its loss for a moment then remembered something...

... her gaze reached up and met Xander's and she cringed. "Oh. Well, this is awkward."

Cara watched the two for a moment, doing all they could to suddenly avoid eye contact. She wondered vaguely what had happened to cause that level of unease but there wasn't time to focus on it right now. "We really should go – those sirens sound really close."

**eieio**

Back at the hotel some hours later, Dawn was sitting on her bed, tense and waiting. She just **knew** that Xander would come to see her tonight to explain in great detail how he loved her but he wasn't **in love** with her... she really didn't need to hear it.

The knock came soon enough and she let him in. He looked tense. She closed the door behind him and sat back down on the end of the bed. "Xander, can we not..? Please. Look, I know that it's pointless and I wouldn't ever expect... I was dying! That's all."

Xander frowned. "I love Anya, Dawn."

Dawn bit her lip and looked at him. "I know. I know you do. That's great. Really. It's just... look, I always knew it was hopeless. I have **no** intention of acting on it, okay? I love Anya – she's a part of my family. Even if you were interested, I would never!"

Xander sighed. "I really don't like hurting you, Dawn. It's just..."

The young woman rolled her eyes. "Please just stop. I'm just young, okay? You think I won't ever find someone else to love? I'm sure I will." She sighed tiredly. "Look, just forget what I said, okay? Please don't say anything to the others – that'd make it all awkward and horrible... well, even more awkward than it already is."

He looked wounded. "You think I would run and tell Anya?" Dawn shook her head. "About what I said, no but, about the whole dying thing... Cara, Joan and Lisa have already agreed to keep it quiet. I'd appreciate it if you did the same."

"I can't keep that sort of thing quiet, Dawn. Not forever."

"I didn't ask you to but it's **my** business, Xander – let me tell them in my own time. **After** I've done research; after I've worked out just what this all means for me. I mean, it could well turn out that I'm like Wolverine and this energy is going to keep me running for ever; healing my cells so I don't age or, it might just protect me when I am mortally injured – after all, I've had plenty of nicks and scratches along the way that didn't heal like... that." She pondered on that for a moment. "And again, it might have been a one-time deal but, I need to figure it out... I also need to get to a lab somewhere to look at my blood."

Xander sighed and held his hands up in surrender. "Okay Dawn, you win. I won't say anything – about anything to do with tonight." He watched the woman relax then and sighed. "I've gotta get back to Anya – she only sent me out for ice." With a quick nod, he turned and left. Dawn leaned on the door after he left, her eyes closing in resignation. "This is going to be awkward."

**eieio**

Giles sat in the Council Offices in Cleveland with Buffy. They were currently researching, trying to discover if the First had an army there, waiting for the perfect chance to strike – or if indeed It could. They had started to hope that It simply couldn't do anything after Sunnydale had been destroyed. Certainly they hadn't heard from the First in a long time so they were tentatively hopeful – which is why so many of the group and the Slayers were currently spread out around the world, removing as many vampires and demons as they could, making the world a safer place. "Oh Buffy, that reminds me – my friend sent a relic to me today. Haven't received it yet of course... it'll take a few days to get here, I imagine."

Buffy wasn't really paying attention. She was still thinking about Spike and the night that they had had together. "Uh huh." Was it strange that she missed her lover even though he'd only been gone for an hour? Especially given how many long, horrible months she had been apart from him after Sunnydale gave up the ghost... Thank God that Wolfram and Hart had captured his essence in that once-hated medallion! Life as a Slayer was a lot easier now that they ranked in the thousands around the world but being without Spike would have killed the woman in her.

Giles let out a weary sigh. "Buffy, I do believe that you are not listening to a word I am saying!" He couldn't help but roll his eyes when her only response was "Uh huh." "I hear that the moon is turning green and the vampires are going to drink its essence." Another uh huh as his Slayer continued to 'read' the book in her hands. "I also hear that Spike has turned gay and wishes to marry Xander..."

Buffy nodded slowly. "Yeah..." Her eyes widened as that actually sunk in. "Wait, WHAT?" Startled, she looked up at a slightly amused Giles. "Funny... Sorry, what were you actually saying?"

Giles pushed his amusement aside. "I was saying that a friend has sent me a relic today – it should be with me by the end of the week. Some sort of mirror, I believe." And suddenly he felt the atmosphere in the room change – he had his Slayer's full attention now, for some reason.

"A mirror... what sort of mirror?"

The man shrugged. "No idea. All I know for sure is that it's magic of some sort but they can find no records of it. Knowing my interest in such things, they decided they would send it to me so I could check it out."

Buffy considered that for a moment. "Interesting. Can I see it when it gets here?" Buffy was **finally** taking an interest - Giles was **so** pleased. "Yes of course, Buffy."

**A week later**

Buffy stared at the carefully wrapped package in shock. It was indeed The Mirror. She looked from it to her Watcher. "Giles, do you trust the sender? Are they friends with... could the First have gotten to them?"

Giles looked alarmed at that. "What? No! Of course not!" He shook his head, confused. "They told me that it was buried, that they found it on a dig. I have absolutely no reason to doubt them."

Buffy scowled as she tried to think it all through. Perhaps she should leave it – after all, it was something that could be useful in the future... wouldn't it be nice to have a do-over if something went terribly wrong? A shiver suddenly went through her then – like a ghost had just walked over her grave (whatever that expression was meant to mean, she had no clue)... or like the First had just appeared. The Slayer in her didn't bother to think any more – she just grabbed the poker resting on the stand by the fireplace and, before Giles could react, she brought it straight down, shattering the Mirror into hundreds of irreparable pieces.

Giles stared at Buffy in shock. "Buffy what... why... why did you do that?"

Buffy calmly replaced the poker and looked at him. "Sit down Giles – I have a story to tell you. You might not like all of it but, I do need to tell you about it." Most of it, anyway.

**Los Angeles**

Andrew looked over at Faith. "Remind me again why I have to come with you and Robin today on your date."

Faith eyed him. "Okay, here's the truth Andrew... it's not a date – Robin and I are going to get married. We're each bringing a Witness. You're mine...

Andrew's eyes widened like a child's on Christmas morning. "Really?"

The brunette rolled her eyes and slapped the back of his head. "No dumbass – you're coming with us because the demon seems to have a particular liking for you. You're **bait**, okay? This isn't a date Robin is tailing us in the car in case we need back up." She sounded a little disgusted at the thought that she would need help. "And **then** we are going on a date – after we call Angel to come take you home."

Andrew deflated. "Oh yeah. You and Robin should get married though. You make a really awesome couple – cooler even than Spike and Buffy and that's not easy."

Faith sighed. "Yeah. Maybe someday..." She wasn't really paying attention by that stage – she was entirely too focused on the world around them which was very fortunate for Andrew. They had just walked down into a dark alley. Just the two of them – a vulnerable young man with a vulnerable young woman... clearly the demon had never heard of Slayers or it might have thought differently about attacking them at all. Ah well, Faith didn't mind a good fight. She grinned as the demon made its presence known, then dived into the fight.


	58. Epilogue 2

Dawn stood at the very top of the Eiffel tower and looked down at the world. A soft sigh escaped her. It had been over a hundred years now, since the events of Sunnydale. A hundred years and she still looked exactly the same. Somehow that thought depressed her – especially today of all days when thoughts of Sunnydale and its past residents hit her with full force. Instead of pushing the thoughts aside as she usually did however, she allowed herself to remember: Remember them all at long last; remember their lives and their loss.

Giles, the oldest of them had been the first to die. Not by old age, unfortunately but by cancer. They had been battling the First (again) at the time. Rather than getting treatment, he kept it to himself and helped in the fight. By the time the group found out, it was too late to help him out. Dawn had hoped that her blood could help him but apparently outside of her body, her blood was just blood. The Key energy wasn't something that could be transferred to help another – not even temporarily. It had been a bitter moment when she realised that.

Anya had died next and it almost killed Xander right along with her. Had it been something demonic or unavoidable, he probably would have coped better but, she had picked up an infection or something after giving birth to their fourth child. To fix the infection, they gave the ex-demon penicillin... no one realised until it was too late that Anya was seriously allergic. Her last words to Xander were that she loved him and their children. When he told her that, Xander tried to make a weak joke about women dying and telling him they loved him but fresh tears came before he could get it out. Dawn had stayed with him for a year, helping him get back on his feet again before moving on. He never so much as looked at another woman after Anya, focusing entirely on his children.

Robin and Faith came next – Faith made it to forty five which was still a record for Slayers at that stage. Not so much now. Amanda had lived to the ripe old age of ninety two; Cara to the age of ninety five. Faith and Robin were actually on the way to the local Registry Office to get married. She had even roped Andrew in as her Witness... Their car had been motoring along happily when a drunk driver had careened into them, killing Faith instantly. Robin lasted long enough for the ambulance to get there but died before they could even open the car door. Andrew was in Intensive Care for eleven months after that but even after all his hard work, still needed a walking stick to move around. He gracefully retired to a vineyard in France – Dawn had received the occasional email from him until his passing two years ago.

Willow and Tara... well, who knew? They were possibly the next to die, possibly not: They had just finished a spell to bring Cordelia back to them – the Slayer with them had reported that one moment they were there, recovering from the effects of the spell, the next they weren't... Dawn had checked through the spell and the ingredients used but there was nothing in either that should have caused them to vanish like that. She liked to think that they were alive still, somewhere...

They lost Gunn and about a hundred Slayers during Angel's fight with Wolfram and Hart but as sad as that was, they all knew that the casualties could have been far worse – but the sheer number of Slayers against them was enough for the company to beat a retreat. She supposed they would be back in a few hundred years or so but for now, that threat was gone.

Fred and Wesley had quit after that – they still helped with research if necessary but they never went back into the field. They lived into their eighties – Fred died peacefully in her sleep and after she was gone, Wesley just seemed to fade away before their eyes. It seemed that he was happy enough just to be going to his love once more.

Miraculously Cordelia and Angel had a child together... This time, he actually got to raise her along with Cordelia – no one came along to whisk Rachel away to some hell dimension, which was nice. For a while Buffy seemed more than a little put out about that and Spike had been huffy but then she admitted it was because they had a child rather than the fact it put Angel out of reach and everything was okay once more. Connor and his half-sister Rachel never really hit it off. Probably because Rachel never really got past that bratty stage that Cordelia herself had gone through so many years ago. Cordelia too, had died peacefully in her sleep. As for Angel... who knew? Dawn still heard tales from different parts of the world of a dark-haired brooding type appearing out of nowhere to save someone or other when all other hope was gone. She liked to think it was him, doing what he could. Unlike Connor, Rachel was only flesh and blood. She had died of breast cancer at the age of sixty one.

The next week, she had had to attend Xander's funeral. Fortunately she had been with him in the last week. In the brief space of time when it was just her and him in the room, she he had been able to tell him that she loved him still, that she probably always would. He had opened his eyes and looked at her for a moment, a faint smile coming to his lips... and then he had slipped into a coma. It had been a further two days before the doctors recommended switching off the life support. Dawn had pushed her grief to the back of her mind for the next six months, doing what she could to help his children and **their** children cope with his loss. The moment that Spike finally made it back though, six months later, she had broken down. His presence had been comforting even if he couldn't stay long – he had to get back to Buffy who was sick also. It was nothing short of a miracle really, that Buffy had lived so long and so well, and was going to die of old age. Not that it felt that way at the time – not for Dawn and most definitely not for Spike. She supposed there might be some comfort in the fact that Buffy died two days after Xander – it meant that she wouldn't be on her own in Heaven.

Spike of course, had gone out in a blaze of glory just two days ago, fighting a demon horde in China. Single-handed naturally! He had almost survived it. Almost. If the Slayers dispatched there to help had arrived half an hour earlier, he probably would have. Then again, perhaps it was just Spike's time...

Dawn heard a noise behind her and straightened up, turned and smiled faintly at Connor as he appeared behind her. "Just you and me now, I guess."

Connor nodded. "Well, and an army of Slayers... but I get your point." He sighed. "You ready?"

Dawn nodded and moved towards him and the two headed down to the ground to make their way back to Sunnydale for the last time... it seemed only fitting to hold Spike's memorial service as close to the town as possible.

**eieio**

Dawn swallowed hard as she stood up. All eyes were on her – human, vampire and demon – and it made her uncomfortable but she pushed the unease aside and smiled at those gathered before her. "Thank you all for coming here tonight – I'm sure that Spike or William the Bloody as some of you knew him..." She smiled faintly over at Halfrek for a moment. "...Would have been pleased to see so many of you here... regardless of whether you're here to honour his life or simply to ensure that he **is** dead!" She couldn't help but grin at that.

"Spike was a force of nature, one of the most amazing men that I ever knew – brave almost, to the point of stupidity but **brave**. Anybody lucky enough to have him in their corner during a fight didn't have too much to worry about. One of the happiest days of my life was when I found out that he and my sister were an item: I knew that he would never leave her side and they made a great team, didn't they?"

"Many thought that he would give up the moment that my sister breathed her last on this world but he kept on fighting, doing what he could to make the world a better place for all of us..."

**eieio**

Off to the side unseen by the group, Spike stood rolling his eyes. "Little Bit, it's time you stopped now. You're turning me into a Saint and that's just embarrassing." He sighed and shook his head. "Fairly certain that Saints have to die for a good reason. Mine was just stupid – those damned demons just... pushed my buttons, threatening you and the Slayers. Shoulda waited for backup. Now who's going to look after you all?"

Buffy appeared beside him, a smile on her face. "You know you don't need to worry about them, Spike. They're doing just fine."

The blonde ghost jumped a little, surprised. He didn't turn around to look even though he badly wanted to. "Buffy?"

The ghostly female frowned. Why wasn't he turning around to look at her? It felt like years since she had saw him last – well, it **was** years since she had saw him in the 'flesh' rather than just watching him from some weird sort of portal thing in the Heavenly dimension that she now called home. "Spike..?" With a sigh she moved to stand in front of him and smiled brightly at him. "I missed you." Before the ex-vampire could utter a word, he was glomped. There was no other word for it. He almost felt like crying as he realised it truly was his Buffy. He wrapped his arms around her and clung for a moment before he was soundly kissed.

When the woman finally peeled back from her lover enough to look at him, it took a few moments for Spike to regain the powers of speech. "I didn't think I'd ever see you again."

Buffy could only roll her eyes for a moment. "Oh please – like you're going anywhere but to Heaven with me! You know I'd kick up a helluva fuss if they didn't grant you access. Now come on – it's time to go see everyone again. Well, almost everyone – Angel's still off fighting that good fight... but Mom has Cocoa waiting for you." She dragged him off and Spike had to laugh a little as he realised that she might now be a ghost or an Angel but she was still every bit as strong as she had been, all those years ago when she had actually been the age she looked now. "I'd hate to keep her waiting... what's with the smirk, love?"

Buffy's smirk turned into a very deeply amused grin. "Oh, she's not sitting just waiting for you – her and your Mum have been VERY busy."

She smiled up at him and it took Spike a moment or two to realise that he was no longer standing on the ground – he was in fact, soaring upwards and away from the world...

**eieio**

Dawn looked at Connor in the Dawn light. They both sat at the edge of Sunnydale, their legs dangling into the crater that remained. "Did you bring it?"

Connor nodded and reached behind him and after a moment, he held up the custom-made sign that said 'Welcome to Sunnydale'. He passed it over with a smile. Dawn grinned as she took it, looked at it for a moment, nodded and threw it into the crater. "See ya, Spike – take care of Buffy for me... and tell Mom I love her."

**eieio**

Spike heard that and smiled. "Will do, Little Bit."

**eieio**

Dawn shivered a little as she looked over at Connor. Just for a moment, she had thought she heard Spike... her automatic reaction was to dismiss the notion. Then again, this **was** Sunnydale so why not? She smiled and stood and looked at Connor. "So what now?"

Connor smiled and took her hand. "I figure we should go see how Cleveland's doing?"

Dawn groaned. "Not fair – don't you know the saying 'all work and no play makes Connor a dull boyfriend'?"

Connor laughed out loud at that. "Not one I'm familiar with but I can see your point... how about we go to Brazil again? You haven't been there in a while, have you?"

The woman's eyes sparkled at the thought. "I like your thinking. Much better." She leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips. "Let's go."

**eieio eieio eieio eieio**

A/N: I'd originally intended to put Dawn's scene into the final battle in Sunnydale but it just seemed like there was so much going on already. I had also considered making it a separate story in its own right but in the end, this seemed more sensible.

A/N1: Again, thank you to anyone who took the time to read, review, favourite and/or follow. And thank you for the kind words and helpful comments pointing out my very silly/obvious mistakes.

A/N2: It took me a while but I completed it! I feel so proud. :D Longest story I've actually managed to get down in black and white, rather than just in my head (written on my own, at any rate).

Emily


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